Nigeria has entered a five-year defence cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, establishing a new framework for expanded military collaboration.
The announcement was made through a statement issued by Ahmed Dan Wudil, media aide to the Minister of State for Defence.
According to the statement, the pact will cover strategic collaboration across security, military training, intelligence sharing, defence production, and joint operations for sustainable security development.
The Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, was signed by Minister of State for Defence Mohammed Matawalle, with Dr Khaleed H. Al-Biyari representing the Saudi government.
The Defence Ministry noted that the agreement marks a significant step in boosting bilateral relations, cooperation and enhancing collaborative efforts in tackling emerging security challenges in the country. It added that the government is optimistic ongoing security concerns across parts of Nigeria will soon be resolved.
Matawalle has recently faced public scrutiny following the resurfacing of an old video from his time as Zamfara governor where he discussed terrorism. Former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode condemned the coverage, describing it as a vicious media campaign and labelling the criticisms shameless and nauseating.
Fani-Kayode defended Matawalle’s performance in office, asserting that the minister has remained loyal to President Bola Tinubu and has been instrumental in Nigeria’s counter-terrorism operations. He further claimed that the synergy between Matawalle and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu has resulted in the killing of more terrorists in the last two years than in the previous eight put together.
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