FG Cancels Training Of Nigerian Army Battalion By US

The mutual suspicion between the Nigerian
Government and its U.S counterpart assumed
a new dimension with the latter cancelling a

plan to have the United States military train
a battalion of Nigerian soldiers to confront
the Boko Haram terrorist sect.
The Nigerian government did not give
reasons for the decision Monday, but the
United States government said it regretted
the move, which it said would have boosted
the capacity of Nigerian troops in the war
against insurgency.
According to the U.S Government, the first
two phases of the training were conducted
between April and August, 2014, noting that
it had also provided untrained civilian
personnel with basic soldiering skills.
A statement from the Information Office of
the US Embassy in Abuja, on Monday,
however, said it would continue other
aspects of the extensive bilateral security
relationship, as well as all other assistance
programmes with Nigeria.
The statement read, “At the request of the
Nigerian government, the United States will
discontinue its training of a Nigerian Army
battalion. The first two phases of training
were conducted between April and August
2014, and had provided previously untrained
civilian personnel with basic soldiering skills.
“Based on mutual assessment of the
Nigerian Army and U.S. trainers, a third
iteration of training was agreed upon with
the intent of developing the battalion into a
unit with advanced infantry skills.
“We regret the premature termination of this
training, as it was to be the first in a larger
planned project that would have trained
additional units with the goal of helping the
Nigerian Army build capacity to counter Boko
Haram”.

Like This Article? Please Like Us On FACEBOOK