Nigeria's cabinet has approved borrowing roughly $618 million from a group of financiers to buy six Italian-made M-346 attack jets and ammunition for the country's air force, Information Minister Mohammed Idris said on Wednesday.

Earlier this month the air force said it was acquiring 24 M-346 combat jets and 10 AW109 Trekker helicopters as part of a fleet renewal strategy.

The first three M-346 jets are expected to be delivered by early 2025, with subsequent deliveries running until mid-2026, the air force has said.

Nigeria has ramped up military spending in recent years as it struggles to contain attacks by armed bandits in the northwest and a 15-year Islamist insurgency against Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast.