Foreign and Commonwealth Office written question – answered at on 1 March 2017.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance the Government is giving to the Government of Nigeria to help tackle the activities of Boko Haram; and whether that assistance includes the provision of aircraft or helicopter support.
The Government is committed to supporting Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram. We are providing a substantial package of military, intelligence and development support including training and advice for the Nigerian armed forces. To date over 22,500 Nigerian military personnel have received UK training, a significant number of whom have been deployed on counter-insurgency operations in North-East Nigeria. With France and the US, we are supporting a Nigerian intelligence analysis and planning cell focused on the North East and based in Abuja. In addition we have provided £5 million to support the Multinational Joint Task Force, a regional taskforce against Boko Haram.
In 2014, UK surveillance aircraft were deployed to Nigeria to assist the authorities for a limited period. We have not provided any aircraft or helicopter support to the Nigerian military since then.
Tackling Boko Haram requires a comprehensive approach that also addresses the political, economic and development problems in north east Nigeria. The Department for International Development's (DFID) portfolio for the North East includes programming in health, education, governance, social development and economic growth. In addition, through DFID, the UK is the second largest donor to the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria and Lake Chad. In September 2016 we pledged a further £80m of aid. This is on top of almost £90m of UK humanitarian aid already that is already being delivered in the region.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
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