Nigeria and Benin Enhance Border Security Cooperation

Nigeria and Benin have enhanced their border security cooperation after Defence Minister General Christopher Gwabin Musa's three-day working visit to Cotonou. During the visit, Musa met with Benin’s Minister of National Defence, Gildas Agonkan, and senior military officials.

The discussions centered on countering terrorism, transnational crime, illegal trafficking, and maritime insecurity, with a focus on protecting the two countries' land borders and the Gulf of Guinea. A significant outcome was the proposal for real-time intelligence sharing between Nigerian and Beninese security agencies to identify and disrupt terrorist and criminal networks.

Nigeria also suggested greater operational flexibility for security personnel at the border to combat violent extremists and criminal groups. Musa inspected Benin’s Centre for Post-Conflict Demining and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operations and the Glo-Djigbe Industrial Zone, exploring cooperation in technology and industrial development.

He assured Nigerian troops deployed in Benin of the Federal Government’s commitment to their welfare and urged coordination with Beninese forces to prevent border exploitation by armed groups.