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| US fighter jet; Credit: Reuters |
Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee have urged President Joe Biden to cancel the proposed sale of almost $1 billion worth of arms to Nigeria following reports from Reuters of an illegal abortion program and the killing of children by the Nigerian military. Subcommittee members, California Democrat Sara Jacobs and New Jersey Republican Chris Smith, also called for a review of the security assistance and cooperation programs in Nigeria, including an assessment of the risks of civilian casualties and abuses resulting from the arms assistance.
The lawmakers expressed their concern about U.S. policy on and military support for Nigeria, stating that the security forces of Nigeria have limited knowledge of humanitarian law and the necessary tools for effective engagement with local populations, according to reports from humanitarian workers. The Nigerian military and Islamist insurgents have been engaged in a 14-year conflict, which the assistance provided by the U.S. has so far failed to quell. Congress members also reported that there were instances of weapons captured by insurgents.
The lawmakers called for the cancellation of the proposed $1 billion arms sale, stating that it would be highly inappropriate to proceed with it. The United States had earlier approved the sale in April, along with other military support to Nigeria, the largest ever offered to the country, after lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had delayed the deal over concerns about rights abuses.
This call for a review marks the second time in recent months that Congress has made such a request. In December, U.S. Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made a similar request after the reports from Reuters appeared. He sought a review of the potential use of sanctions for alleged abuses and the security assistance and cooperation programs in Nigeria by the United States.
The Reuters investigation, “Nightmare in Nigeria,” found that the Nigerian military has been carrying out a secret, illegal abortion program in the northeast of the country since at least 2013, which has ended at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls. Many of the victims had been kidnapped and raped by Islamist militants, while the resisters were beaten, held at gunpoint or drugged into compliance. Nigerian military leaders denied the existence of the program and accused Reuters of being part of a foreign effort to undermine the country’s fight against the insurgents.
Reuters also reported that the Nigerian Army and its allied security forces have killed children during their 13-year war against Islamist extremists in the country’s northeast. The army, however, denied the targeting of children for killing. Following the publication of the Reuters report, many entities, including the U.S. departments of state and defence, the German foreign ministry, the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, called on the Nigerian government to investigate. Human rights experts have also opined that the army’s actions could constitute war crimes. Nigeria’s defence ministry has since agreed to cooperate with an investigation by Nigeria’s Commission on Human Rights, which is currently underway.
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