EU Commits USD23M to Boost Nigeria’s Military Amid Security Crisis
(MENAFN) The European Union has committed €20 million ($23 million) in military assistance to Nigeria, a major push to deepen security ties as the country grapples with entrenched violence.
The package emerged from talks in Abuja between Defense Minister Christopher Musa and Gautier Mignot, the EU’s ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States, according to a statement from Leah Katung-Babatunde, the minister’s media aide.
The funds will flow through the EU’s European Peace Facility. An EU technical delegation is due in Nigeria in November to finalize how the support will be delivered, the statement said.
Mignot praised Nigeria’s efforts to confront its security challenges and invited Musa to a gathering of defense ministers in Brussels later this year.
Musa thanked the bloc for its sustained backing and restated President Bola Tinubu’s pledge to safeguard lives and advance national development.
He said military operations were slowly bringing relative calm to some troubled areas. Even so, kidnappings on major highways and assaults on isolated communities remain grave threats, he added.
Nigeria also expects delivery of 10 attack helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and other equipment to bolster current operations, the minister said.
Turning to regional security, Musa flagged the shrinking Lake Chad Basin, which sustains more than 50 million people, as a potential source of instability. Keeping terrorists from using the lake’s islands as operating bases is a top priority for the Multinational Joint Task Force, the body that coordinates regional counterinsurgency efforts, he said.
Musa further urged that Nigeria’s disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program give priority to conflict victims, including military personnel harmed by the insurgency.
Nigeria has fought a protracted insurgency in the northeast, while banditry, kidnappings and other violence persist in other regions.
The package emerged from talks in Abuja between Defense Minister Christopher Musa and Gautier Mignot, the EU’s ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States, according to a statement from Leah Katung-Babatunde, the minister’s media aide.
The funds will flow through the EU’s European Peace Facility. An EU technical delegation is due in Nigeria in November to finalize how the support will be delivered, the statement said.
Mignot praised Nigeria’s efforts to confront its security challenges and invited Musa to a gathering of defense ministers in Brussels later this year.
Musa thanked the bloc for its sustained backing and restated President Bola Tinubu’s pledge to safeguard lives and advance national development.
He said military operations were slowly bringing relative calm to some troubled areas. Even so, kidnappings on major highways and assaults on isolated communities remain grave threats, he added.
Nigeria also expects delivery of 10 attack helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and other equipment to bolster current operations, the minister said.
Turning to regional security, Musa flagged the shrinking Lake Chad Basin, which sustains more than 50 million people, as a potential source of instability. Keeping terrorists from using the lake’s islands as operating bases is a top priority for the Multinational Joint Task Force, the body that coordinates regional counterinsurgency efforts, he said.
Musa further urged that Nigeria’s disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program give priority to conflict victims, including military personnel harmed by the insurgency.
Nigeria has fought a protracted insurgency in the northeast, while banditry, kidnappings and other violence persist in other regions.
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