Boko Haram: S-Arabia donates $10m arms, relief aid to Nigeria

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has donated $10 million to Nigeria for arms and relief materials for the internally-displaced persons’ crises in the country.

Leader of the Saudi Arabian delegation, Nasir Bin Mutlak, duirng a visit to the Minister of Defence, Mansur Ali, disclosed that the aid package, which was in cash and military equipment, was aimed at assisting the IDPs in the North- East in particular, and meeting other essential needs of the military.

According to Nasir Bin Mutlak, “our country and Nigeria have continued to have very good relationship. Our mission in the Ministry of Defence is to help our brothers in the IDP camps in the North-East.

“The $10 million is from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre and the Saudi Development Fund. It is meant to show solidarity with Nigeria in the fight against terrorism and to show support for IDPs.”

Mutlak also said the delegation will visit the states in the North-East affected by Boko Haram insurgents to ascertain the level of support they need and report back to their country.

Responding, Ali commended the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the huge support, noting that aside from assisting in tackling challenges at IDP camps, the aid will go a long way in helping acquire strategic military equipment needed to tackle terrorists challenges.

He said: “As you may be aware, we have the Multi-National Joint Task Force, MNJTF, comprising Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin Republic, fighting to stop the spread of terrorism in the region.

“We have refugees from Cameroon, Chad and Niger, worsening the already tough situation with IDPs in the country. Your intervention will go a long way in helping us tackle these challenges.”

Other members of the delegation were Khalid Bim Abdulrahman Al-Mani and Muhammad Bin Addidat Al-Namla.