WARSAW – The Nigerian Defense Ministry has ordered 1,000 assault rifles from Polish firearms maker Fabryka Broni Lucznik. The 5.56mm Beryl rifles will be supplied to Nigeria’s Army in January, and senior company representatives say they expect the country’s Defense Ministry to order a further 5,000 weapons next year, reports local news agency PAP.
"I hope that our sale of the first 1,000 rifles to Nigeria will send a signal that our weapons are worthy of interest ... also to other countries," said Tomasz Nita, chief executive of Fabryka Broni Lucznik.
Nigerian troops are engaged in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency efforts against Boko Haram, an Islamist terrorist group, in the country's north.
Nita said representatives of the Nigerian Army are training in Radom. The amount of the contract was not disclosed by the Polish manufacturer.
Fabryka Broni Lucznik says that the Beryl has a fire range of 600 meters.
The producer is part of the country's state-run Polish Armaments Group, set up in 2013 and headquartered in Radom, central Poland. The group was established with the aim of consolidating the country's fragmented defense industry, and consists of 33 companies with an aggregate workforce of 19,000, according to data released by the group. ■
Emai: jadamowski@defensenews.com.
