Nigeria, UK sign MOU on counter- terrorism, maritime security

Nigeria and UK have signed a Memorandum Of
Understanding (MOU) on bilateral military
cooperation to tackle terrorism and maritime
insecurity in the country.
Dr Olusola Obada, Minister of State for
Defence, and her British Counterpart, Hon. Andrew
Robathan, signed the pact on behalf of
their countries.
Obada said the MOU was necessary in view of
increased crude oil theft from the Niger Delta which
is taken abroad for marketing and refining; as well
as pipeline vandalism which resulted in
environmental degradation.
“We are here to sign an MOU being the third of such
agreements,” she said. “This particular one is in the
area of counter-terrorism and maritime security.
We in Nigeria need all the support we can get to
combat oil bunkering, illegal refineries, and
vandalism of pipelines as we have a lot of
refineries in many parts of the Niger Delta.
And when they refine this crude, they throw away
about 30 per cent. So, you can imagine the amount
of degradation that we have in the environment.
We need all hands on deck to combat this scourge
and also tackle maritime security in the Gulf of
Guinea. People come to our country to steal our
crude oil and refine them abroad.”
The MOU is to ensure information and experience
sharing on defence and security matters which are
of mutual interest to both nations. It also includes
specialised military training for personnel, and
partnership in addressing regional and international
security challenges.
The MOU is valid for five years with an automatic
extension of another five years.
In his remark, Robathan pledged UK's readiness to
assist Nigeria in tackling its security challenges,
saying that crisis in Mali, as well as Boko Haram
were threats to British interest in the region.