Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has warned Washington that a US refusal to arm his troops because of so-called human rights violations only helps Boko Haram in the groups cause.
The 72-year-old former general has been warmly received in the US capital on his first visit since his March election raised hopes of reform in Africa’s troubled giant.
But he departs with little practical military assistance in his battle against the militants who have turned the northeast of his country into a bloody war zone.
The US government has vowed to help Nigeria defeat the insurgency but it is prohibited under law from sending weapons to countries that fail to tackle human rights abuses.
Buhari expressed frustration that the United States was still hiding behind the Leahy Law to deny Nigeria the much needed weapons to battle Boko Haram.
The law forbids the United States from selling weapons to countries with a record of human rights abuses, a constant accusation against Nigerian armed forces prosecuting the Boko Haram war since 2009.
President Buhari has returned to Abuja after his four-day visit to the United States where he met with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
He also met with the World Bank President Jim Yong-Kim, where a $2.1 billion aid was announced for Nigeria’s Boko Haram ravaged north east states.
Boko Haram has killed some 10,000 people since 2009 and has also kidnapped hundreds of girls and women.
