Nigeria, Benin strengthen joint front against terrorism, cross-border crimes

By Kingsley Omonobi Nigeria and the Republic of Benin have renewed their commitment to strengthening regional security cooperation and combating terrorism, piracy and other cross-border crimes following a three-day working visit by the Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd), to Cotonou. The visit focused on deepening bilateral defence relations, harmonising regional security frameworks and developing joint strategies to address emerging security threats across West Africa.

Musa called for greater coordination among regional security blocs to effectively respond to evolving security challenges, while urging regional forces to reaffirm their commitment to protecting democratic governance, securing land borders and safeguarding the Gulf of Guinea against maritime crimes. Hosted by his Beninese counterpart, Minister of National Defence, Mr. Gildas Agonkan, the Nigerian delegation secured commitments aimed at improving intelligence sharing, border security and operational cooperation between both countries.

Reaffirming Nigeria’s zero-tolerance stance against terrorism, Gen. Musa urged Benin to work closely with Nigeria to prevent violent extremist groups from establishing footholds along their shared borders. He said Nigeria’s security forces remained determined to confront terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements threatening the peace of both countries.

To strengthen border security, Nigeria offered to support measures that would enable security personnel to operate more effectively around border areas in order to prevent insurgent infiltration and illegal trafficking. A statement by the Ministry of Defence said both countries agreed to establish seamless, real-time intelligence-sharing mechanisms to enable their militaries to track and disrupt transnational criminal networks and insurgent groups before they carry out attacks. “The actionable intelligence pipeline will allow both militaries to track, trace and neutralise transnational criminal networks and insurgent cells before they execute operations,” the statement said.

Musa and his delegation inspected the Centre for Post Conflict De-mining and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Operations (CPADD) and the Glo-Djigbe Industrial Zone (GDIZ). The visits were aimed at promoting local capacity development in line with the third pillar of the m…