President Muhammadu Buhari has looked to Russian President, Vladimir Putin, for much needed military support to combat the resurgent Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East. Citing a report on Kremlin's RIA news agency, Reuters said PMB will sign a Military-Technical Cooperation deal with the eastern European state in the Russian town of Sochi before the end of October.
Nigeria's ambassador in Russia, Stephen Ogbah, said, "We're sure that with Russian help we'll manage to crush Boko Haram given its experience combating Islamic State in Syria." The Buhari administration had in 2018 paid $496m for the purchase of two Tucano jets from the United States, which it said would be delivered in 2020. According to Ogbah, Nigeria is interested in buying Russian helicopters, planes, tanks and other military equipment, adding that a draft version of the deal had already been finalised.
He added, "We hope President Buhari can take the talks to their logical end. The agreement will open new possibilities in such areas as the supply of military equipment and training for specialists."
