- Last August, Nigeria signed an Agreement on Military-Technical Cooperation with Russia. The agreement provided for Russia to supply Nigeria with military equipment and training as well as ‘after- sales- services, training of personnel in respective educational establishments, and technology transfer.
Russia is a long term partner of Nigeria in the defence cooperation and the arms trade. During Nigeria’s almost three years of civil war that ended in 1970, the Soviet Union extended military assistance.
Last August, Nigeria signed an Agreement on Military-Technical Cooperation with Russia. The agreement provided for Russia to supply Nigeria with military equipment and training as well as ‘after- sales- services, training of personnel in respective educational establishments, and technology transfer. The agreement was a fructification of discussions between the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and The Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2019.The agreement was seen as a reaction to US reluctance to sell military equipment on grounds of human rights concerns. US hesitancy has been a constant irritant in the bilateral relations.
It was reported that under the agreement with Russia, Nigeria has acquired Russian-made combat and transport helicopters like the Mi-35M and Mi-171E, both export variants of the Russian Mi-24 and Mi-8, for military operations. Experts point out that the Russian invasion on Ukraine will negatively impact the agreement with buying and servicing of military equipment will be become expensive.The sanctions imposed on Russia’s defence-industrial sector is expected to have deep and long-lasting effect on the Russian defence sector disrupting supply chains and production and blocking Russia’s access to cutting-edge technologies . Experts point out that the current situation can curtail Russian capacity to provide efficient maintenance support and additional aircraft to foreign customers, including the Nigerian Air Force.
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