Watan-Two members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday called on President Joe Biden to cancel a $1 billion arms deal with Nigeria following Reuters reports of an illegal abortion program and the targeted killing of children by Nigerian forces.
Democratic Representative Sara Jacobs of California and Republican Chris Smith of New Jersey—both members of the subcommittee on Africa—also called for a review of U.S. security assistance and cooperation programs in Nigeria. This includes an evaluation of the risks of civilian casualties and human rights violations resulting from military aid.
The lawmakers stated,”We write to express our concern over current U.S. policy toward Nigeria and its military support.” The United States currently provides security assistance to Nigeria, coupled with training focused on compliance with international law. However, the lawmakers cited reports from humanitarian workers suggesting that Nigerian security forces “appear to have a limited understanding of humanitarian law and effective engagement tools with local populations.”
U.S. Lawmakers Push to Halt Nigeria Arms Deal Amid War Crimes Revelations
They added that U.S. assistance so far has done little to ease the 14-year conflict between the Nigerian military and Islamist insurgents in the country’s northeast. There have also been reports of militants seizing U.S.-supplied weapons.
In their letter, they wrote:”Therefore, we believe proceeding with an arms sale worth approximately $1 billion would be entirely inappropriate, and we urge the administration to cancel it.”
The U.S. State Department approved the sale in April, marking the largest military aid package ever to Nigeria, after lawmakers from both parties had previously blocked the deal over other human rights concerns.
This marks the second formal request from Congress for a review since Reuters’ December investigation. Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also requested a reassessment of security aid to Nigeria following the report.
The Reuters investigation found that since at least 2013, the Nigerian military carried out a secret, systematic, and illegal abortion program in the northeast, terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls, many of whom had been kidnapped and raped by Islamist militants. Witnesses said women who resisted were beaten, threatened at gunpoint, or drugged into compliance.
Nigeria Faces Global Pressure Over Alleged Military War Crimes
Nigerian military officials denied the existence of such a program, claiming the Reuters report was part of a foreign attempt to undermine Nigeria’s fight against insurgents.
Reuters also reported that the Nigerian army and allied security forces slaughtered children in their ongoing 13-year war against Islamist extremists. Nigerian military leaders told Reuters that the military had never intentionally targeted children.
The Reuters series “Nightmare in Nigeria” prompted calls from the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, as well as Germany’s Foreign Ministry, the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, urging the Abuja government to launch an investigation. Human rights experts said the military’s actions could constitute war crimes.
Amid international pressure, Nigeria’s Ministry of Defense agreed to cooperate with an investigation led by the Nigerian Human Rights Commission.
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