US Lawmakers Urge to Halt $1bn Arms Sale to Nigeria due to Military Human Rights Abuse Reports.
Sara Jacobs of California, a Democrat, and Chris Smith of New Jersey, a Republican, from the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, are urging President Joe Biden to cancel a $1 billion arms deal with Nigeria due to concerns of targeted killings of children and illegal abortion practices carried out by the Nigerian military.
The lawmakers, both members of the subcommittee on Africa, are calling for a review of security assistance and cooperation programs in Nigeria, including assessing civilian casualties resulting from the arms assistance.
Despite the U.S. having provided security assistance to Nigeria and the associated training aimed at complying with international law, the lawmakers said there are reports that the Nigerian security forces have “a limited understanding of humanitarian law and tools for effective engagement with local populations.”
The lawmakers consider the arms sale “highly inappropriate” given the reported human rights abuses. The sale was initially paused by lawmakers of both parties over human rights concerns, and later approved by the U.S. State Department in April.
This is the second call for a review from Congress in recent months. In December, U.S. Senator Jim Risch requested a review of U.S. security assistance and cooperation programs in Nigeria and the potential use of sanctions for alleged abuses after Reuters published reports of targeted killings of children and an illegal abortion program carried out by the Nigerian military.
A Reuters investigation found that the Nigerian military has been running a secret, systematic, and illegal abortion program in the country’s northeast since at least 2013, ending at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls who had been kidnapped and raped by Islamist militants.
The Nigerian military leaders denied the existence of such a program and accused Reuters of attempting to undermine the country’s fight against insurgents. Additionally, the Nigerian Army and allied security forces were reported to have massacred children during their 13-year war against Islamist extremists in the northeast, which the military leaders have also denied.
Human rights experts have suggested that the army’s actions could be classified as war crimes. Following the international outcry, Nigeria’s defense ministry agreed to cooperate with an investigation by Nigeria’s Commission on Human Rights, which is currently ongoing.