AUTHORITIES of Saudi Arabia
have refused to grant over-
flight permits to Nigerian
cargo planes carrying
military equipment, including
armoured tanks from
Pakistan, which Nigerian
authorities have procured in
order to fight the Boko
Haram rebel group, media
reported on Monday.
It will be recalled that IANS,
quoting Pakistani officials in
Abuja, early this year,
reported that Pakistan had
pledged to support Nigeria in
its fight against Boko Haram.
It was gathered from
intelligence sources in
Nigeria that the decision by
the Saudi authorities was
certain to cause a diplomatic
row between the two
countries.
President Jonathan, it was
gathered, gave the green
light to the military
authorities to procure arms
from countries like Pakistan
and Russia other than its
allies, including the United
States of America, United
Kingdom and France.
“With the position of the
West, Nigeria decided to turn
to the East, chiefly Pakistan,
from which the Federal
Government was able to
procure a huge cache of
military hardware needed to
prosecute the war against
Boko Haram,” the sources
said.
“We got permission to fly
through Sudan and other
countries but have been
blocked by Saudi Arabia,
which has impeded the
urgency of the operation,”
the intelligence sources was
further quoted.

Source

Interesting