The United Kingdom (UK) says it will send additional 150 trainers to Nigeria towards the training of the Nigerian military.
This is part of the British government’s assistance in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents in the disturbed northern region.
This was made public on Monday in Abuja by the British Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Fallon, during a visit to discuss Nigeria’s security situation.
Mr Fallon said that the military trainers, whose number would be increased to 300, would commence the exercise in 2016 on specific expertise particularly in unravelling Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
He also said that the British government has tightened their legislation and would work with the Nigerian government to improve the procurement and tender process of military equipment to ensure transparency and competitiveness.
President Muhammadu Buhari had told Mr Fallon that his administration was taking urgent and appropriate actions to restore order, due process and probity to the procurement processes of the nation’s Armed Forces.
The President lamented that the procurement of equipment for the country’s Armed Forces which followed due process in the past, had become open to corruption and shady deals under the last administration.
Welcoming the offer by the British Government to assist Nigeria in defence procurement, intelligence gathering and training, President Buhari restated his conviction that the international community must collaborate more and work with greater unity of purpose to overcome global terrorism.
