The United Kingdom minister For Armed Forces, James Heappey has assured that his country is committed to improving intelligence sharing with Nigeria and other countries to tackle terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
The minister, who spoke to reporters on Tuesday at the British High Commission in Abuja, expressed concern that the intelligence cooperation has been immature, adding that the partners must see that as an opportunity to improve on the situation.
“The reality is that we have an opportunity to improve our intelligence sharing and capability in surveillance and reconnaissance is really important. The UK can support countries within the region to provide their own solutions to their problems. The fact that intelligence relationships are so immature is a concern, but is also an opportunity,” he said.
He added that the UK and Nigerian armed forces enjoy a long and strong relationship, stressing that the conversation is focused on the security challenges in the region.
“The reason our armed forces remain so close is that the relationship is being renewed again and again since independence because we have worked together to address challenges like maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea or terrorism in the Lake Chad basin and we will continue to do so.
“Now a lot of that is connected to training together, sharing tactics and techniques,” he said.
The UK minister added that the both countries have also collaborated in naval operations with the UK Royal Navy providing support to Nigeria with a combination of training and developing capability together in the Gulf of Guinea, adding that both countries will continue to strengthen efforts against insecurity.
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