Nigeria buys arms from Czech dealer to fight Boko Haram

Friday, January 30, 2015 11:37 pm

*Arms come from redundant equipment of Warsaw Pact armies
*3 cargo flights scheduled to bring the weapons

The T-72 tank . Photo Prague Post
Czech arms dealer Excalibur Group will sell weapons to Nigeria’s government forces for fighting with the militant group Boko Haram, local media reported on Friday.

Excalibur Group’s spokesman Andrej Cirtek confirmed the weapons include modernised Soviet-made tanks T-72 M1 and 16 other vehicles, armoured infantry fighting vehicles BVP and rocket launchers and the destination for those weapons is Nigeria, the Prague Post reported.

Czech Defence and Security Industry Association head Jiri Hynek confirmed that the destination is Nigeria.

According to the report, the heavy arms come from redundant equipment of the armies of the former Warsaw Pact.
The Russian cargo plane bringing the weapons

The arms are to be carried by a huge Antonov An-225 Mriya transport plane from the airport in Ostrava, north Moravia, Czech Republic.

The aircraft is scheduled to make three flights to Nigeria, the first part of the arms will be sent there within a few days, according to the report.

“The tanks had to be delivered quickly so that the Nigerian army had vehicles to fight with,” Hynek told MfD.

According to unofficial information, the military vehicles are being sold for more than $8 million.