The United States State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Nigeria of munitions, precision bombs, precision rockets, and related equipment valued at an estimated $346 million.

This is coming after U.S. lawmakers had put a hold on sale of weapons to Nigeria over concerns about possible human rights abuses by the Federal Government.

The U.S. had in 2022 approved nearly $1 billion weapons sale to Nigeria by the Joe Biden administration after initial pause by President Donald Trump in his first term in office.

This is as a result of concerns over the series of accidental bombings by the military air and land forces in their bid to clear terrorists from their enclaves which also affected some villagers in Nigeria.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) confirmed it delivered the required certification to Congress yesterday, notifying lawmakers of the planned sale.

According to the DSCA, the Government of Nigeria has requested to purchase 1,002 MK-82 general purpose 500 lb bombs; 1,002 MXU-650 Air Foil Groups (AFGs) for 500 lb Paveway II GBU-12; 515 MXU-1006 AFGs for 250 lb Paveway II GBU-58; 1,517 MAU-169 or MAU-209 computer control groups for Paveway II GBU-12/GBU-58; 1,002 FMU-152 joint programmable fuzes; and 5,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) all-up-rounds, each comprising a WGU-59/B guidance section, high-explosive warhead, and MK66-4 rocket motor.

Non-major defense equipment (non-MDE) items in the package include FMU-139 joint programmable fuzes, bomb components, impulse cartridges, high-explosive and practice rockets, integration support and test equipment, with U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics services.

The State Department said, “The sale will support foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the U.S. by improving the security of a strategic partner in Africa.”

It added that the deal would enhance Nigeria’s ability to respond to current and future threats, “through operations against terrorists and to counter illicit trafficking in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.”

The DSCA noted that the sale would not alter the basic military balance in the region and that Nigeria would have no difficulty integrating the munitions into its armed forces.

The principal contractors for the potential sale are RTX Missiles and Defense (Tucson, AZ), Lockheed Martin Corporation (Archibald, PA), and BAE Systems (Hudson, NH). The U.S. Government is not aware of any offset agreement linked to the deal, but any such arrangement would be negotiated between Nigeria and the contractors.

The agency also stated that no additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives would be assigned to Nigeria for the implementation of the sale, and that there would be no adverse effect on U.S. defense readiness.

The final cost is expected to be lower than the initial estimate, depending on Nigeria’s final requirements, available budget authority, and the conclusion of signed agreements.