Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) security situation in Nigeria and (b) impact of that situation on the region.

I am grateful to the Honourable Member for securing a debate on this important issue in Westminster Hall on 19 July. As set out in my intervention, Nigeria faces multiple complex security challenges including terrorism, violent criminality and intercommunal conflict. Insecurity in Nigeria has a devastating impact on affected communities and the effects of this are felt in the wider region.

The UK government works to support the Nigerian Government in carrying out its responsibility to provide security for the Nigerian people, including through our Security and Defence Partnership and efforts to support conflict prevention, peacebuilding and protection of human rights. During my visit to Nigeria in February, I raised rising insecurity and its impact on the Nigerian people in meetings with the Vice President, Foreign Minister and several State Governors. The Prime Minister also discussed insecurity with President Buhari at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in June. We are taking a coordinated and regional approach to supporting Nigeria and its neighbours, including working with international partners, to address the causes and effects of insecurity.

We continue to urge and support the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence. We will also continue to work with international partners to monitor the impacts of conflict and insecurity in Nigeria on neighbouring countries and the wider region.