The European Union is set to provide €20 million in defence assistance to Nigeria to help the military tackle insecurity across the country.
The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, disclosed this during a meeting with the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States, Gautier Mignot, in Abuja.
The assistance will be provided under the European Peace Facility, an EU programme that supports peace and security. An EU technical team is expected to visit Abuja in November to discuss how the funds and support will be delivered.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the minister’s aide, Leah Katung-Babatunde, the meeting focused on security cooperation between Nigeria and the EU.
Musa thanked the European Union for its continued support for Nigeria’s efforts to address insecurity. He also reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting lives and property.
The minister said relative peace was gradually returning to the country because of the efforts of the Armed Forces and other security agencies.
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👉 JOIN GISTSMATE WHATSAPP CHANNELHowever, he identified kidnapping along major highways and attacks on isolated communities as major security challenges that still needed to be addressed.
Musa also disclosed that Nigeria was expecting 10 attack helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and other important military equipment through the efforts of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
On regional security, the minister warned that the shrinking Lake Chad Basin, which supports more than 50 million people, could create further security problems.
He said preventing terrorists from using islands in Lake Chad as operational bases remained a major priority for the Multinational Joint Task Force, which works to combat terrorism in the region.
Musa also called for greater attention to people affected by conflicts under the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration programme. He stressed that military personnel affected by the conflict should also receive proper support.
Earlier, Mignot praised the minister’s efforts to improve Nigeria’s security situation and invited him to a meeting of defence ministers scheduled to take place in Brussels later in the year.
The EU ambassador also commended a recent conference involving former and serving commanders of the Multinational Joint Task Force.
Representatives of the African Union and the Lake Chad Basin Commission attended the meeting.
Mignot said the planned visit by the EU technical team in November would help finalise arrangements for delivering the €20 million defence assistance.
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