US Stopped Israel From Selling Arms To Nigeria

Twenty-four hours after US Secretary of State, John Kerry held
meetings with President Goodluck Jonathan and former Head of State,
General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), where he pledged his country's
determination to work with Nigeria to end the activities of the Boko
Haram terrorists, Israeli media has revealed that the United States
halted the resale of arms by Israel to Nigeria.
According to aviation-focused website, flightglobal.com, Nigeria had
shown interest in buying surplus Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters
that were phased out of service by the Israeli air force in 2013, as
well as in Israeli-produced unmanned air systems. But the US blocked
any sale by Israel of surplus American-made weapon systems to Nigeria,
and also indicated that Israeli-made equipment should be exported to
the country only "under strict conditions".
The transfer of such aircraft requires a review to determine its
"consistency with US policy interests," Obama administration officials
told The Jerusalem Post.
Negotiations were said to have started, but Israel's defence ministry
ordered them to stop following a request by Washington, a source
familiar with the process revealed to FlightGlobal. The US
administration probably does not want to be involved in any way in the
domestic war in Nigeria between the nation's army and Boko Haram
militants, the source adds.
Israeli sources say Nigeria had also wanted to purchase more
Israeli-made UAS. The country in 2006 purchased a number of Aerostar
vehicles made by Aeronautics Defense Systems in a deal reported to be
worth $260 million.
The Israeli defence ministry declines to make a statement on the
matter, noting: "We never comment on the export of Israeli-made weapon
systems."
US's reason for blocking the transfer has been attributed to fears of
human rights abuse by the military, an allegation Nigerian officials
describe as unfounded.
"The kind of question that we have to ask is, let's say we give
certain kinds of equipment to the Nigerian military that is then used
in a way that affects the human situation," US ambassador to Nigeria
James F. Entwistle told reporters in October, according to theNew York
Times.
"If I approve that, I'm responsible for that. We take that
responsibility very seriously."