Nigeria: Terrorism

(asked on 9th November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Nigerian Government on tackling (a) banditry and (b) jihadist extremism in the north of that country.


Answered by
Vicky Ford Portrait
Vicky Ford
This question was answered on 18th November 2021

The Government is concerned by increasing insecurity in Nigeria. The drivers of violence in the North are complex, often influenced by poverty, competition over resources, and a lack of alternative employment. Jihadist ideology is also a key driver of the conflict involving terrorist groups in the North East.

We regularly raise this insecurity in Nigeria, including terrorist and criminal activity with the Nigerian Government. On 1 November I raised the issue of insecurity with Nigeria's Foreign Minister in the margins of the COP26 summit in Glasgow. The Prime Minister also discussed this with President Buhari in the margins of the Global Education Summit in July.

We are providing a comprehensive package of humanitarian and stabilisation assistance to support communities affected by the conflict in North East Nigeria. We also continue to urge and support the Nigerian Government to take action to respond to conflict and implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence across the country.

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