The Nigerian military has called on the British government to assist military in the fight against Boko Haram, and other security challenges currently ravaging the country.
Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, General Gabriel Olonisakin, made this request, while hosting his counterpart, the British Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Houghton, at the Defence Headquarters, DHQ, Abuja on Friday.
Olonisakin had requested for British assistance in military hardware, essential equipment, platforms and intelligence gathering, not only in the areas of operations in the North East but also in the protection of the nation’s maritime environment and the Gulf of Guinea.
He expressed gratitud to the visiting British CDS and Britain for all the assistance rendered to Nigeria and its Armed Forces so far. He called for more collaboration, especially at this crucial time when Nigeria is faced with crimes and illegalities within the nation’s territory.
The British Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Houghton had noted the long standing relationship between Nigeria and the United Kingdom and the recent visit of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Britain, prompted his visit to Nigeria to meet with the top military leadership on the urgent areas of collaboration against the threat of Boko Haram insurgency.
He noted that Britain was aware of the efforts Nigeria Armed Forces had put in to subdue insurgency in the North East and militancy in the Niger Delta, noting that the time is ripe for Nigeria allies to render all necessary forms of assistance to reinforce the capability of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The British CDS pointed out that the successful conduct of the last Nigeria general election that produced Mohammadu Buhari as the President has further put Nigeria on a positive global searchlight in the comity of nations and the Britain is ever ready, more than before, to assist the country in human capacity building and technical aids. He commended the Nigerian Armed Forces for beating back the terrorists in the last couple of months.
