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United States lawmakers are holding down a proposed sale of attack helicopters to Nigeria amid mounting concerns about the Muhammadu Buhari regime’s human rights record as it grapples with multiple security crises.

US lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have reportedly delayed clearing a proposed sale of 12 AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters and accompanying defence systems to the Nigerian military.

The deal is worth $875 million, according to US officials and congressional aides familiar with the matter.

In addition to the helicopters, the proposed sale included 28 helicopter engines produced by GE Aviation, 14 military-grade aircraft navigation systems made by Honeywell, and 2,000 advanced precision kill weapon systems—laser-guided rocket munitions, according to information sent by the State Department to Congress and reviewed by Foreign Policy magazine.

A report by Foreign Policy on Tuesday said the behind-the-scenes controversy over the proposed arms sale illustrates a broader debate among Washington policymakers over how to balance national security with human rights objectives.

The hold on the sale also showcases how powerful US lawmakers want to push the Biden administration to rethink US relations with Nigeria amid overarching concerns that Buhari is drifting toward authoritarianism as his government is besieged by multiple security challenges, including the Boko Haram insurgency.

But Western governments and international human rights organisations have ramped up their criticisms of the Buhari regime, particularly in the wake of its ban on Twitter, systemic corruption issues, and the Nigerian military’s role in deadly crackdowns on #EndSARS protesters last October.

Menendez, called for a “fundamental rethink of the framework of our overall engagement” with Nigeria during a Senate hearing with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken in June.

Both Menendez and Sen. Jim Risch, a top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, have placed a hold on the proposed arms sale, according to multiple US officials and congressional aides familiar with the matter, who spoke to Foreign Policy on condition of anonymity.

The details on the proposed sale were first sent by the US State Department to Congress in January before then-former Vice President Joe Biden was inaugurated as president, according to officials familiar with the matter.

Nigeria has just received six out of the 12 Tucano jet fighters purchased from the US government.

Some experts said the United States should hit the pause button on major defence sales until it makes a broader assessment of the extent to which corruption and mismanagement hobble the Nigerian military and whether the military is doing enough to minimize civilian casualties in its campaign against Boko Haram and other violent insurrectionists.

Administration officials say they are tired of regular efforts by Capitol Hill to review arms

“There doesn’t have to be a reason why we don’t provide weapons or equipment to the Nigerian military,” said Judd Devermont, director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank. “But it has to be done with an assessment of how it will actually, one, change the direction of conflict in Nigeria, and, two, that they will use it consistent with our laws. In both cases, it’s either a question mark or a fail.”

“There is a culture of impunity that exists around abuses by the military,” said Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch, Anietie Ewang.

Ewang cited the Nigerian military’s killing of unarmed protesters during the massive #EndSARS demonstrations against police corruption and brutality last year as well as cases documented by human rights organizations of abuses in the military’s campaign against Boko Haram.

“I’m sure it’s a difficult situation. There are so many conflicts springing up across the country now,” Ewang said.

“The authorities, I presume, are trying to do the best they can to save lives and properties. But this must be done in accordance with human rights standards. You can’t throw one out just to be able to achieve the other.”

The chances of Nigeria winning medals at the Tokyo Olympics has been dealt a big blow with the declaration of 10 of the country’s athletes as ineligible to compete.

A statement on Wednesday from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), an independent body created by World Athletics that manages all integrity issues – both doping and non-doping – revealed that a total of 18 athletes have been declared ineligible.

Nigeria is the most affected country, not meeting the minimum testing requirements under Rule 15 for 10 athletes.

The AIU explained that under the framework of Rule 15 governing National Federation Anti-Doping Obligations, which came into force in January 2019, National Federations are accountable for ensuring appropriate anti-doping measures are in place in their respective jurisdictions.

Among other things, the rule sets out minimum requirements for testing for the national teams of ‘Category A’ federations deemed to have the highest doping risk and considered as a threat to the overall integrity of the sport.

The key requirement in Rule 15 is that an athlete from a ‘Category A’ country must undergo at least three no-notice out-of-competition tests (urine and blood) conducted no less than three weeks apart in the 10 months leading up to a major event.

Only then do they become eligible to represent their national team at the World Athletics Championships or the Olympic Games.

For the year 2021, the seven identified ‘Category A’ National Federations are Belarus, Bahrain, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and Ukraine.

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria, which has been plunged into needless crises in the last 14 months is, thus, highly culpable in this development.

Algerian quits Olympics rather than take on Israeli in judo match

TOKYO — An Algerian judo competitor has chosen to ditch the Tokyo Olympics rather than hit the mat with an Israeli.

It was the second time in two years that ninth-ranked Fethi Nourine withdrew from a major judo competition rather than take on sixth-ranked Israeli Tohar Butbul.

Nourine and his coach, Amar Benikhlef, told Algerian media that they were boycotting Butbul to support the Palestinians.

“My position of the Palestinian issue is firm,” Nourine said on Thursday. “I will not recognize the Israeli flag, and I will not get my hands dirty with it.”

Benikhlef said “we were not lucky with the draw.”

“We got an Israeli opponent, and that’s why we had to retire,” the coach said. “We made the right decision.”

There has been no official response from the Israelis, but the International Judo Federation quickly slapped Nourine and his coach with a temporary suspension and said both could face more sanctions after the games are over.

“These actions were taken based on the official recorded declarations of both Fethi Nourine and Amar Benikhlef, that were published in the media and that are in total opposition to the philosophy of the International Judo Federation,” the organization said in a statement. “The IJF has a strict non-discrimination policy, promoting solidarity as a key principle, reinforced by the values of judo.”

In response, the Algerian Olympic committee withdrew both men’s accreditation and made plans to send them home.

Behind the scenes in Olympic host city Tokyo
Nourine had faced a possible second round matchup on Monday with Butbul in the 73K division. His first round opponent was Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool.

Two years ago, Nourine pulled out of the 2019 Judoka World Championships when he was pitted against Butbul.

The Algerian’s refusal to compete with Butbul for a second time came on the same day the director of the Tokyo Olympics’ opening ceremony was fired for making a Holocaust joke during a comedy show back in 1998.

During the ceremony Friday, the organizers paused to remember the nine members of the Israeli team who were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.

It’s not the first time that Israeli judo competitors have been shunned by rivals from Arab states.

Back in 2016, at the games in Brazil, an Egyptian who later quit the sport refused to shake the hand of an Israeli who had just defeated him.

And in April, the IJF hit the Iranian Judo Federation with a four-year ban for demanding that its athletes refuse to fight Israeli opponents.

BKayy:
Chai. I hate this news.
But why the excess pictures? Is it because of girls or what?
When Lokonga was signed by Arsenal, you people posted one picture here but una don see fine boy come post seven picture in a forum where the limit is 4.
Una wan make feminists kill themselves with dildos toady?