Odita Sunday 
By Odita Sunday
The European Union is planning €20 million in defence assistance for the Nigerian Armed Forces, with a technical delegation expected in Abuja next month to finalise arrangements for the support.
The proposed assistance under the European Peace Facility was discussed when the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd), received the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Gautier Mignot, and his delegation at Ship House, Abuja.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the Ministry of Defence, the meeting also focused on reviewing security cooperation between Nigeria and the EU and strengthening existing bilateral defence agreements.
Mignot commended the minister’s efforts to improve the country’s security situation and invited him to attend a meeting of defence ministers in Brussels later in the year.
Responding, Musa expressed appreciation for the EU’s continued support for Nigeria and reaffirmed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to protecting lives and promoting national development.
The minister said relative peace was gradually returning to parts of the country through the efforts of the Armed Forces and other security agencies. However, he acknowledged that kidnapping along major highways and attacks on isolated communities remained security challenges requiring sustained action.
He added that Nigeria was expecting the delivery of 10 attack helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other critical military equipment through efforts being pursued by the President.
Musa also highlighted the security implications of the shrinking Lake Chad Basin, which he said supports more than 50 million people.
He stressed that preventing terrorist groups from maintaining strongholds on islands in Lake Chad remained a major operational priority for the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which coordinates regional efforts against insecurity in the Lake Chad region.
On the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme, the minister said attention should also be given to victims of conflict, including military personnel affected by security operations.
The EU ambassador disclosed that a technical delegation would visit Abuja in November to agree on the details of delivering the proposed defence assistance.
Mignot also commended a recent conference involving former and serving MNJTF force commanders, which was attended by representatives of the African Union and the Lake Chad Basin Commission.
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