April 14, 2021

Nigeria is expected to receive six of the 12 Super Tucano jets ordered from the United States in mid-July, the presidency said on Tuesday.

According to presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, 14 Nigerian pilots are currently training with the aircraft at the Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.

Mr. Garba disclosed this in a series of tweets on Tuesday where he posted a video credited to the Sierra Nevada Corporation, a private American aerospace firm, showing test-flight operations.

The announcement comes after the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru, appeared before a committee of lawmakers at the House of Representatives on Monday.

He wrote, “Test flight operations for @NigAirForce newly acquired Super Tucano combat aircraft.

Video Credit: Sierra Nevada Corporation via @Vimeo pic.twitter.com/VTnW1wqYuI”.

The committee is reviewing the purchase, use, and control of arms, ammunition, and related hardware by the military, paramilitary, and other law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.

In March, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno had been quoted by the BBC as suggesting that funds for arms procurement had gone missing under the immediate past Service Chiefs.

The Office of the National Security Adviser later put out a statement saying Monguno had been quoted out of context.