By John Ikani
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has sued the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin over the sale of A-29 Super Tucano Aircraft to Nigeria, which they say would be used on their supporters.
IPOB which submitted a complaint against two of President Joe Biden’s top officials in a federal court in Washington on Saturday, is asking a judge to direct Blinken and Austin to block the transfer of six A-29 Super Tucano aircraft to Nigeria’s Air Force, and to seek the return of six that were recently delivered.
A report by Bloomberg quoted IPOB’s lawyer Bruce Fein as saying the U.S, by allowing Nigeria to receive six Super Tucano planes on July 21 violated laws that are supposed to “shield citizens of foreign sovereigns from harm caused by United States weapons in the hands of security forces guilty of gross human rights violations.”
What you should know
Nigeria’s government ordered the attack and reconnaissance planes to help it tackle an Islamist insurgency in the northeast of the country that has lasted more than a decade and claimed more than 30,000 lives.
The Super Tucano aircraft are equipped with precision-guided munitions and have been used for counterinsurgency operations in countries from Afghanistan to Colombia.
The jets were approved for sale to the Nigerian Government by the Trump-led US administration to support Nigeria’s military operations against terrorist organizations, Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa, and Nigeria’s efforts to counter illicit trafficking in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.
This deal came after the Obama-led US government reportedly refused to help Nigeria with military equipment to fight insurgency in the country.
