EU pledges €20 million in defense aid to Nigeria — Anadolu Agency

The European Union has pledged to provide Nigeria’s armed forces with €20 million in defense assistance to strengthen security cooperation and counter instability in the country. This was reported by Anadolu Agency, citing a statement by Nigerian Assistant Minister of Defense Leah Katung-Babatunde.

Assistance through the European Peace Facility

The proposal was discussed in Abuja by Nigerian Defense Minister Christopher Musa and the EU ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States, Gautier Mignot. The support is planned to be provided through the European Peace Facility.

An EU technical delegation is due to arrive in Nigeria in November to agree on mechanisms for providing the assistance. Mignot also noted the efforts of the Nigerian authorities to address security problems and invited Musa to a meeting of defense ministers in Brussels later this year.

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Security situation in Nigeria

Musa thanked the EU for its support and said that security operations were gradually restoring relative calm in some troubled areas. At the same time, he described kidnappings on major highways and attacks on remote communities as serious challenges.

According to the minister, Nigeria is expecting 10 attack helicopters, drones and other military equipment to reinforce ongoing operations. He also drew attention to the risks of instability in the Lake Chad Basin, which provides livelihoods for more than 50 million people. Musa named preventing terrorists from using islands on Lake Chad as operational bases as a priority for the Multinational Joint Task Force.

Nigeria has long been countering insurgents in the country’s northeast, as well as banditry, kidnappings and violence in other regions.