Nigeria can’t use Israeli drones to find missing girls
Published May 22, 2014
(JTA) — In the search for 200 girls kidnapped by terrorist group Boko Haram, Nigeria will not be able to use Israeli drones it purchased due to poor maintenance.
The drones were purchased in 2006, according to anonymous officials who spoke to Reuters, but Nigeria has not asked their Israeli manufacturer, Aeronautics Defense Systems, to perform a routine maintenance since then.
“To the best of our knowledge, these systems aren’t operational,” Tsur Dvir, the company’s marketing official told Reuters. “They are probably parked in a yard somewhere.”
Israel has also sent intelligence personnel to advise Nigeria’s government in the search for the girls. British, French and U.S. advisers have also gone to Nigeria.
Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group operating in Nigeria, kidnapped the girls last month. Nigeria has so far been unable to find the girls.