By Odita Sunday
Nigeria and the Republic of Benin have strengthened their defence partnership with fresh commitments to combat terrorism, banditry, piracy and other cross-border crimes threatening regional stability.
The renewed commitment followed a three-day working visit to Cotonou by the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (Rtd), who led a high-powered Nigerian delegation for talks with Benin’s Minister of National Defence, Mr. Gildas Agonkan, and the country’s military high command.
A statement on Friday by the Minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Leah Katung-Babatunde, said both countries agreed to deepen military cooperation, improve intelligence sharing and harmonise security operations to tackle evolving threats across West Africa.
The statement said the two sides reaffirmed their determination to protect democratic governance, strengthen security along their shared borders and enhance safety in the Gulf of Guinea against piracy and maritime crime.
As part of the resolutions reached, Nigeria and Benin agreed to establish seamless real-time intelligence-sharing mechanisms to enable both militaries detect, track and neutralise insurgents and transnational criminal networks before they strike.
General Musa reiterated the Federal Government’s zero-tolerance policy against terrorism and urged Benin to work closely with Nigeria to deny violent extremist groups safe havens along their common border.
”We are going to partner with the troops of the Republic of Benin to ensure that we stop all those bandits, all those criminals that are killing people in our own countries, so that we can deal with them,” the minister said.
”One of the reasons for my visit is to come here and meet their own Minister of Defence so that we can sit down and see how we can work out our operations together, so that we can stop these people from infiltrating through our borders,” he added.
To strengthen border security, Nigeria also proposed broader operational cooperation that would enhance efforts to prevent insurgent infiltration, arms smuggling and other illegal cross-border activities.
During the visit, the Nigerian delegation toured the Centre for Post-Conflict Demining and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operations (CPADD) and the Glo-Djigbe Industrial Zone (GDIZ), where discussions centred on technology-driven defence capabilities, local capacity development and industrial collaboration in line with ECOWAS and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
General Musa also visited Nigerian troops deployed at Togbin, Cotonou, under Operation ATILEYIN ALAFIA II, where he commended their sacrifices and assured them of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to improving their welfare.
”A lot of good things that Mr President is preparing for you, we are following up to ensure that you live very well. We are providing the necessary support so that you can do your job. We know our job is very difficult, and most times people don’t appreciate what we are doing. But God knows we are doing our best, and we are securing Nigeria,” he told the troops.
The minister also held diplomatic talks with Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, Mrs. Mopelola Ibrahim, before returning to Abuja.
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