Given that some reports indicate the U.S. has spent at least $54 billion of aid to Ukraine as the Biden administration is asking Congress for another $37 billion to fund the war, it is likely surprising to none that some of the purchased weapons have found their way into black markets around the globe.
This appearance of previously unseen weapons was noted by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who highlighted dangers posed by terrorist groups at a Lake Chad Basin regional conference on Tuesday, per a statement put out by his office:
At the 16th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), the President, who is Chairman of the Summit of Heads of State and Government, said the threat by terrorists in the region had been relatively brought under control, while the influx of weapons poses fresh challenges.
“It must however be stated that despite the successes recorded by the gallant troops of the [Multinational Joint Task Force] MNJTF and the various ongoing national operations in the region, terrorist threats still lurk in the region,” Buhari said.
“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 Lake Chad Region,” said the Nigerian president. He claimed that “the arms and ammunition procured to execute the war in Libya continues to find its way to the Lake Chad Region and other parts of the Sahel.”
He additionally noted that “Weapons being used for the war in Ukraine and Russia are equally beginning to filter to the region.”
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has claimed that weapons used in the Ukraine conflict have ended up in the hands of insurgents in Africa.
Both major US political parties now reportedly agree on the need to strengthen the monitoring of supplies being sent to Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/1pAIy5Eyf9
— RT (@RT_com) December 3, 2022
The Nigerian president explained that this arms trafficking has threatened “collective peace and security in the region.”
“The threat of Boko Haram terrorism in the Lake Chad area no doubt brought to the fore the imperative of enhanced collaboration among the defense forces of the region in the face of a common aggressor,” he noted.
ZeroHedge pointed out that critics of the ongoing massive U.S. aid to Ukraine, especially as it pertains to weapons, have long argued that there is no “accountability or appropriate tracking once those arms enter the country, presenting ripe opportunities for criminals, terrorists or lucrative black market arms sellers to take advantage.”
