President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the United States ‘aided and abetted’ the Boko Haram sect by refusing to provide weapons to Nigeria.

A US law prevents the government from selling arms to countries which commits human rights abuses, the BBC reports.

Buhari met President Barack Obama in Washington on Monday to seek further assistance. He heavily criticized the U.S, especially the Leahy Law, which links military sales to human rights.

The Nigerian military did “not possess the appropriate weapons and technology which we could have had if the so-called human rights violations had not been an obstacle,” the BBC quoted Buhari as saying to the U.S Institute of Peace on Wednesday.

“Unwittingly, and I dare say unintentionally, the application of the Leahy Law Amendment by the United States government has aided and abetted the Boko Haram terrorists,” he added.

The U.S previously promised some $5 million in military assistance to the regional coalition helping to fight Boko Haram, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State.