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Weapons sent to Ukraine 'beginning to filter' to Africa, Nigerian President says

03 December 2022 11:00 (UTC +04:00)

Weapons shipped from Western countries to Ukraine are “beginning to filter” to the Lake Chad basin region, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari warned this week, APA reports citing Sputnik.

"Regrettably, the situation in the Sahel and the raging war in Ukraine serve as major sources of weapons and fighters that bolster the ranks of the terrorists in the region," Buhari told heads of states from neighboring states participating in the Lake Chad Basin Commission on Tuesday in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.

Buhari went on to urge his counterparts to step up security cooperation in the interest of combating the threat of weapons smuggling. Alongside the leaders of Benin, Chad, Niger, and Central African Republic, the Nigerian president agreed to step up military coordination in their countries’ fight against Boko Haram and ISIS* terrorists: who are now reportedly receiving guns from Ukraine.

Russian political leaders and Interpol officials alike have warned for months that weapons sent to Ukrainian nationalists are likely to end up in the hands of hardened criminals in Europe and beyond.

So far, however, western governments have largely refused to take the advice seriously, with many suggested arms bazaars featuring western weapons are the product of Russian disinformation. In September, a British news outlet insisted the existence of such illegal weapons markets “could be an organized disinformation campaign.”