Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to international cooperation against terrorism.
Professor Osinbajo offered the assurance on Tuesday when he received the visiting Bangladeshi Chief of Army Staff, General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
“We are concerned about terrorism not just within our borders, we have also seen the influence of terrorists across borders and how terrorist organisations have cooperated with each other.
“We are aware for instance that some within our own borders are cooperating with ISIL and we think that this sort of evil collaborations must have a response from countries that share similar experiences and can present a credible force against terrorists,” he observed.
On the urgency required to tackle the menace, Osinbajo admitted that “terrorism is a major problem and perhaps the most significant problem that the free world will face in the coming years”.
He, however, said that improved cooperation between the Bangladeshi and Nigerian military would go a long way towards curbing threats posed by terrorist groups within and around borders of the two countries.
“We have benefitted a lot from some of your experiences in fighting insurgency in Bangladesh, and we hope that we benefit even more from those experiences. We have had similar problems with Boko Haram and I know that you have also had problems of some sort with terrorist groups within the borders of Bangladesh.
“We also have an ordinance factory here at DICON, which we are hoping to do a lot with very soon. We hope that there might be ways that we could cooperate, especially in the manufacture of ordinances, arms generally and other forms of weaponry,” the Vice President said in a statement from his spokesman, Mr Laoulu Akande.
The Bangladeshi Army Chief, who is in Nigeria on a working visit to improve military relations between both countries, acknowledged that there was a need to strengthen relations on the defence and economic fronts, to tackle challenges peculiar to both countries.
He said the long standing relationship between Nigeria and Bangladesh has helped in the career development of many officers of the armed forces of both countries.