Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson confirmed on Thursday that Nigeria has asked to purchase military equipment from the UK to fight Boko Haram militants.
British soldiers are already training 28,000 Nigerian troops fighting the Terrorist Organisation in the northeastern parts of the country. "They have put out a request for more help with material - equipment of one kind or another. We are going to look at that," Johnson told Reuters in Lagos.
"We will look at that very seriously on counter-IED provision, on a request for more help with attack helicopters, for instance.
Let's have a look at what we can do," he added.
US already providing aid
The United States of America confirmed the sale of 12 Super Tucano A-29 planes and weapons worth $593 million to Nigeria this month. Britain's Foreign Office has, as of yet, not provided the details of its arms and ammunition sale to the African nation.
Johnson was in Nigeria and visited Maiduguri, the troubled northeastern city at the heart of the insurgency. He also held talks with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja on Thursday.
Use of child bombers has increased
Boko Haram are notorious for using child bombers to attack important buildings and towns. The abhorrent use of child bombers has seen a four-fold increase compared to the previous year, according to UNICEF.
As many as 83 children have been used as human bombs, out of which, 55 were girls mostly under the age of 15, and 27 were boys. As per the figures released by UNICEF, only 19 human bombs were used last year.
More than two million people have been displaced or had to flee their homes as Boko Haram's insurgency in Nigeria enters its eighth year.
The terrorist organisation has been directly responsible for more than 20,000 deaths. According to Reuters, the frequency of suicide bombing has also increased in the region, with a reported 170 people killed since June 1 this year.
Nigeria's president Muhammadu Buhari strongly condemned these rampant atrocities last week, vowing that his government will relentlessly pursue its aim to destroy the organisation.
Boko Haram is trying to create an Islamic State in the Lake Chad region which incorporates parts of Nigeria as well as Cameroon, Niger and Chad. The militants first came to the world's notice when they kidnapped 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in April 2014. Aid groups that are volunteering in the region have claimed that the terrorist organisation has also kidnapped countless adults since coming into the fray.
