Nigeria to set up arms-making factory, Britain committed to help fight against Boko Haram

Nigerian soldiers soon, could have locally-made firepower to call upon.

(Photo credits:AFP).

Nigeria is planning a facility that will manufacture arms for the country’s troops, President Muhammadu Buhari said.

The Ministry of Defence is developing a plan for the construction of a “modest” complex, allowing Africa’s top oil producer to meet some of its local demand, Buhari said in an e-mailed statement.

Nigeria’s “over-dependence on other countries for critical military equipment and logistics” is “unacceptable,” he said.

While on a visit to Washington last month, Buhari said a U.S. law restricting access to weapons to Nigerian troops over their poor human rights record, had inadvertently “aided and abetted” Boko Haram’s campaign.

The conflict has drawn troops from neighbouring nations, and assistance from countries such as the U.K. and the U.S.

On Thursday, the UK said it would help Nigeria in its fight against terrorist attacks by Boko Haram, the West African nation’s defense ministry said.

U.K. officials led by Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Gordon Messenger made the pledge during a meeting with Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Gabriel Olonisakin in the capital, Abuja on Thursday, according to an e-mailed statement.