Nigeria agrees to borrow $618 million for attack jets and ammo

Information Minister Mohammed Idris said on Wednesday that Nigeria’s government has agreed to borrow about $618 million from a group of investors to buy six M-346 attack jets made in Italy and ammunition for the air force.

As part of a plan to update its fleet, the air force said earlier this month that it would be buying 24 M-346 combat jets and 10 AW109 Trekker helicopters.
The air force says that the first three M-346 jets will be shipped by the beginning of 2025, and that more will be sent until the middle of 2026.

Nigeria has been spending more on its military lately because it is having a hard time stopping attacks by armed bandits in the northwest and an Islamist uprising in the northeast that has been going on for 15 years against Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province.