EU pledges €20 million in defense support to Nigerian military

The European Union has pledged €20 million ($23 million) in defense assistance to Nigeria's armed forces to strengthen security cooperation and support efforts to tackle persistent insecurity across the country.

The proposed assistance was discussed during a meeting in Abuja between Nigerian Defense Minister Christopher Musa and Gautier Mignot, the EU ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States, according to a statement by Leah Katung-Babatunde, the minister's media aide.

The support will be provided under the EU's European Peace Facility, with an EU technical delegation expected to visit Nigeria in November to agree on the arrangements for its delivery, the statement said.

Mignot commended the Nigerian government's efforts to address security challenges and invited Musa to a meeting of defense 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 security operations were gradually restoring relative peace in some troubled areas, although kidnappings along major highways and attacks on isolated communities remained serious challenges.

The minister also said Nigeria was expecting 10 attack helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and other military equipment to strengthen ongoing security operations.

On regional security, Musa identified the shrinking Lake Chad Basin, which supports more than 50 million people, as a source of potential instability.

He said preventing terrorists from using islands in Lake Chad as operational bases remained a key priority for the Multinational Joint Task Force, which coordinates regional efforts against insurgency.

Musa also stressed that Nigeria's disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program should prioritize victims of conflict, including military personnel affected by the insurgency.

Nigeria has battled a long-running insurgency in the northeast, alongside banditry, kidnappings and other forms of violence in different parts of the country.