Nigeria and Cameroon have signed an agreement to deepen bilateral defence cooperation and secure the shared southern border.
The agreement was signed in Yaoundé on Tuesday by Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd), and Cameroon’s Minister Delegate to the Presidency in Charge of Defence, Joseph Beti Assomo.
The signing followed two days of negotiation between defence and security experts from both countries. The MoU sets up an updated strategy to tackle emerging security threats on land and at sea along the Nigeria–Cameroon border, and builds on the existing defence cooperation between both nations.
The agreement would strengthen cooperation and coordination between the two nation militaries, intelligence sharing, logistics support, joint training, exchange of personnel, and stronger mechanisms for responding jointly to security threats.
The Nigeria Defence Minister said the MoU would now serve as a structured framework for military cooperation between Nigeria and Cameroon, and would help formalise collaboration on shared security concerns.
The talks also focused on putting the recently set up Combined Maritime Joint Task Force into full operation, as both countries see the collaboration as a key strategy for improving maritime security and protecting their economic and security interests in the Gulf of Guinea.
General Musa also said that Nigeria remains open to deeper collaboration in defence technology and innovation. He noted that one of the major challenges facing defence capability development in Africa has been the limited indigenous production of military hardware.
He called for stronger regional partnerships in the development of that area
In response, Assomo said Cameroon was interested in advancing cooperation in defence innovation and technology, and he confirmed that a formal proposal is currently being prepared to foster the shape to concrete bilateral arrangements in that area.
