The Nigerian government forces will buy Czech tanks, amphibious vehicles and rocket launchers to fight the militant Islamist group Boko Haram

The Nigerian government forces will buy Czech tanks,
amphibious vehicles and rocket launchers to fight the militant
Islamist group Boko Haram.
According to Daily Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD), the spokesman of
Excalibur Group, Andrej Čírtek, revealed that the Czech arms
dealer is expected to deliver modernized Soviet-made tanks
T-72 M1 and 16 other vehicles, BMP armored infantry fighting
vehicles and rocket launchers to an African country.
READ ALSO: Boko Haram Invade Adamawa, Besiege Mubi
He said the heavy arms come from sales of redundant
equipment of the armies of the former Warsaw Pact.
Meanwhile, Czech Defense and Security Industry Association
head Jiří Hynek confirmed the destination of the weapons to be
Nigeria.
“The tanks had to be delivered quickly so that the Nigerian army had
vehicles to fight with,” Hynek told MfD.
However, it was gathered from an unofficial source that the
military vehicles will be sold for more than $8 million. A huge
Antonov An-225 Mriya transport plane landed in Ostrava, north
Moravia, to carry the arms to Nigeria.
The aircraft which is expected to make three flights to Africa is
to deliver the first part of the equipment within a few days. The
world‘s largest cargo plane will make three trips with tanks and
other armored vehicles.
READ ALSO: Boko Haram Preparing For Massive Onslaught On
Maiduguri
Boko Haram which started its uprising against the Nigerian
government in 2009 was founded in 2002. In 2014, the extremist
sect reportedly killed no fewer than 3,000 people while in the last
five years the it has killed approximately 13,000 people.
The United Nations in a recent repprt puts the number of people
that fled their houses over fears of attack from the sect at 1.5
million.
Meanwhile, new security reports reveal that Boko Haram
militants may be planning a massive attack on Maiduguri, the
capital of Borno State any time soon.
Recall that attempts to recapture Monguno, Borno State , which
was attacked during the weekend by Boko Haram militants was
reportedly unsuccessful.
However, some locals recently corroborated the findings by
Amnesty International that the military command
in Monguno had advance warning of the Boko Haram attacks on
25 January. But the military headquarters failed to take
adequate action to protect civilians.