The European Union (EU) is planning to provide €20 million in defence assistance to the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) under the European Peace Facility.
The proposed support was discussed when the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, met with the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, at Ship House in Abuja.
In a statement on Saturday, the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Leah Katung-Babatunde, said an EU technical delegation would visit Abuja in November to agree on the details of the assistance.
The meeting also reviewed security cooperation between Nigeria and the EU, with Mignot commending Musa’s efforts to improve the country’s security situation.
The ambassador also invited the minister to a meeting of defence ministers in Brussels later this year.
Musa thanked the EU for its continued support and reaffirmed President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to protecting lives and promoting national development.
He said relative peace was gradually returning to troubled parts of the country through the efforts of the armed forces and other security agencies, although kidnapping along major highways and attacks on isolated communities remained a challenge.
The minister also disclosed that Nigeria was expecting the delivery of 10 attack helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other military equipment to strengthen security operations.
On regional security, Musa identified the shrinking of the Lake Chad Basin, which supports more than 50 million people, as a potential source of instability.
He said denying terrorists access to holding areas on the Lake Chad islands remained a key operational priority for the Multinational Joint Task Force.
On the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme, the minister stressed that the initiative should prioritise victims of the conflict, including affected military personnel.
Mignot also commended a recent conference of past and present MNJTF force commanders, attended by representatives of the African Union and the Lake Chad Basin Commission.
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