Nigeria’s military has once again claimed to have inflicted huge casualties on Boko Haram after the militants launched a major offensive on Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.  In the past, these claims have turned out to be overstated, as the militants turned around and launched devastating assaults on new areas.  And the admission of a former Nigerian official illuminates the true depth of Nigeria’s troubles.

Former anti-corruption czar Nuhu Ribadu is running for governor of Adamawa state, adjacent to Borno.  He says that Nigeria was “desperate” for military supplies and had to turn to the black market because Western governments were unwilling to help.  The US and others didn’t send the warn machine because of concerns over the Nigerian military’s human rights record.

“The world might regard this as illegal, but we were being stopped from getting help and our people were being slaughtered,” Ribadu told Canada’s The Globe and Mail newspaper.  “We were being wiped out, and the world didn’t give a damn.  Nigeria was forced into the black market.”

Last September, South African customs officials detained a Nigerian Plane hauling US$9.3 Million, destined for illicit weapons markets. 

“They were looking for tools of war from anywhere in the world,” Ribadu added. “They were looking for tools of war from anywhere in the world.”

Last week, South African media reports that Pretoria was alarmed that at least 100 private “military contractors” were headed to Nigeria to train soldiers to fight Boko Haram.