Nigeria acquires six attack planes to fight insurgents

Nigeria has received the first six military aircraft it bought from the United States, which are expected to boost its efforts in tackling violence by various armed groups.

The A-29 Super Tucano planes landed in the northern city of Kano on Thursday afternoon and were received by Defence Minister Bashir Magashi and other military chiefs.

Nigeria had placed an order for a dozen military planes from the US, which took a few years to manufacture.

The remaining six are expected to arrive in the country in October, Nigeria’s Air Force Spokesperson Edward Gabkwet told the BBC.

The planes are expected to help in surveillance and airstrikes against insurgents and other criminal gangs.

The country is grappling with an insurgency by Boko Haram that has raged for more than decade, killing hundreds of thousands of people and displacing millions of others mainly in the north-eastern region.

Armed criminal gangs have also stepped up violence including killings and kidnappings for ransom across the West African country.

On Sunday bandits shot down a military plane in the north-west, in a rare case of a military jet being brought down by a criminal gang.