Nigeria, Russia Sign Military Agreement

Abuja and Moscow have signed an agreement for the former to buy nearly $1 billion in military equipment and services, Nigeria's ambassador to Russia, Abdullahi Shehu, told VOA.

The Nigerian Embassy released a statement that said the agreement "provides a legal framework for the supply of military equipment, provision of after sales services, training of personnel in respective educational establishments and technology transfer, among others." Reuters reported in July that U.S. lawmakers had put a hold on a proposal to sell almost $1 billion worth of weapons to Nigeria over concerns about possible human rights abuses by the government. When asked if the agreement reached with Russia was influenced by the failure to secure such a deal with the U.S. government, Shehu said no.