The European Union (EU) has pledged €20 million in defence support to the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) under the European Peace Facility (EPF), as Nigeria seeks to strengthen its military operations against terrorists and other security threats.
The proposed assistance was discussed when the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (Rtd), met with the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Gautier Mignot, at Ship House in Abuja.
Leah Katung-Babatunde, Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Defence, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.
According to the statement, the meeting focused on key bilateral defence agreements and a review of security cooperation between Nigeria and the EU.
Katung-Babatunde said Mignot commended Musa’s efforts to improve the country’s security situation and invited him to a meeting of defence ministers scheduled to hold in Brussels later in the year.
She added that discussions also centred on arrangements for the EU’s €20 million assistance package to the Nigerian military under the EPF.
The ambassador, she said, disclosed that an EU technical delegation would visit Nigeria in November to agree on the details of the proposed support.
Musa thanked the EU for its continued support for Nigeria and reaffirmed President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to protecting lives and promoting national development.
The minister said relative peace was gradually returning to some troubled parts of the country through the efforts of the armed forces and other security agencies.
He, however, identified kidnapping along major highways and attacks on isolated communities as persistent security challenges.
Musa 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, the minister identified the shrinking of the Lake Chad Basin, which supports more than 50 million people, as a factor contributing to instability in the region.
He said denying terrorists access to holding areas on islands in Lake Chad remained a key operational priority for the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which coordinates regional efforts against insurgency.
On the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programme, Musa said the initiative would prioritise victims of the conflict, including military personnel affected by the fighting.
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