THE European Union (EU) has promised to strengthen its longstanding partnership with Nigeria through deeper defence cooperation, aimed at tackling the country’s emerging and complex security challenges.
The EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot announced this on Wednesday, December 17, during a courtesy visit to the Chief of Defence Staff, Olufemi Oluyede, at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
“Nigeria’s strategic importance to the European Union, 19 out of the EU’s 27 member states currently maintain diplomatic missions in the country,” he said.
Mignot congratulated Oluyede on his recent appointment and reiterated the EU’s commitment to assisting Nigeria in addressing its security challenges.
EU promises stronger security ties with Nigeria,” he added.
The ambassador drew attention to a range of EU-funded non-kinetic initiatives being implemented across Nigeria to promote peacebuilding, stability, and conflict prevention.
Oluyede, in his response, appreciated the EU for its sustained support to Nigeria, noting his familiarity with the union’s various interventions and programmes in the country.
He commended the EU’s resolve to engage Nigeria directly on security issues, beyond its predominant focus on the Multinational Joint Task Force.
The CDS urged that the proposed engagements be expedited, emphasising that Nigeria is confronting complex and overlapping security threats across multiple regions.
According to him, timely EU’s assistance would be vital in enabling the armed forces and other security agencies to respond effectively to these challenges.
The ICIR reported that Germany also promised to strengthen its cooperation with Nigeria in key areas including the fight against terrorism, malnutrition, energy reform, and migration management, as both countries mark 65 years of diplomatic relations.
The country’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Annett Günther described the relationship between the two counties as one that had evolved from post-independence friendship to “an increasingly intense partnership of equals,” focused on shared prosperity and stability.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.