The United States military has said that it will not
share raw military intelligence with their Nigeria
counterparts as both sides work to rescue over 250
schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram.
This declaration came amid concerns over corruption
in the Nigerian military and infiltration of the force by
Boko Haram.
Pentagon spokesman, Col. Steve Warren who disclosed
this in a website, military.com , said while the U.S. will
be sharing commercial satellite imagery with Nigerian
officials, raw military data will be withheld.
“At this point, we are not sharing raw intelligence
data,” Col. Warren said.
Mr. Warren declined to give reasons for holding back
the information, but the defence website said there are
concerns within the U.S. military about corruption in
the Nigerian military and its infiltration in Boko Haram.
A U.S. army general and head of the U.S. Army, Africa
Command, General Rodriguez, met with the Chief of Air
Staff, Alex Badeh, and the Defence Chief on Tuesday to
work out protocols in sharing available data.
General Rodriguez’ presence in Nigeria had been
previously planned and he was now working out of the
American Embassy in Abuja to coordinate an inter-
agency team on assisting in the search for the missing
school girls.
“Other U.S. troops currently in Nigeria include 50-60
assigned as staff officers to the Embassy and about
20 Marines who were finishing a brief mission advising
Nigerian Navy personnel in Calabar on amphibious
operations,” Col. Warren said.
