Vicky Ford Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) The UK’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF)-funded human rights training on sexual and gender-based violence in Nigeria will be delivered by the Centre for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC); the British Defence Section (BDS); the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); and the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Regional Stabilisation Facility. Figures are only available for 2021-2022; we estimate that over 650 police officers and over 3000 military personnel will receive training from CIVIC, UNDP and BDS by the end of the year. Additional military personnel will receive the ICRC-delivered International Humanitarian Law/human rights training, which is integrated into British-military training courses run by Operation Turus.

Andrew Mitchell: Minister of State – (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development), Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development and Africa)
The UK Government condemns the abduction and continued captivity of children by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) in North East Nigeria. This includes the 2014 kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls, around 100 of whom are understood still to be missing. I [Andrew Mitchell] raised this case specifically with incoming Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in December 2022. Through the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership, we have also provided mentoring and capacity building for the Nigerian Police Force to improve their response to kidnappings. We remain committed to supporting the Nigerian Government to secure the release of all those held captive.

The UK Government have voiced their concerns and strongly condemned rising insecurity across Nigeria, including the Middle Belt region. They recognise the intercommunal aspect of these violent episodes, as well as the impact they’re having on both Christian and Muslim communities. Religious identity is acknowledged as a cause in some cases; however, the driving factor is thought to stem from resource competition and criminality. These issues have been repeatedly raised with the Nigerian Government, and only recently the UK and Nigeria reaffirmed a defence and security partnership in which both parties agreed on key areas of future cooperation to respond to shared threats.

The UK has urged the Nigerian Government to adopt long-term solutions that seek to address the underlying factors, largely criminality and competition over resources, while promoting human rights for all. In addition, since 2017, £425 million worth of humanitarian aid has supported 1.5 million people in North-East Nigeria. The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) Lake Chad Basin programme works with the Nigerian military in their response to terrorist groups, as well as broader stabilisation efforts with local communities. In the Middle Belt, efforts are directed toward managing the effects and supporting victims of sexual violence.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park — We welcome this report and its recognition that the underlying drivers of violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are complex. The Minister for Africa visited Nigeria in February 2022 and raised rising insecurity and its impact on the Nigerian people in meetings with the Vice President, Foreign Minister and several State Governors. The Minister was pleased to be able to meet with a range of interlocutors, including faith and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) leaders, who are working towards peace in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. In all these meetings, the Minister reiterated the UK’s commitment to working with actors across Nigeria to address violence, protect human rights, and promote dialogue and respect between different ethnic and religious communities. We continue to encourage the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence.

James Cartlidge: The Minister of State – Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence does not hold details on the quantity of small arms sent to Nigeria by UK businesses.

Information on export licences issued to UK businesses is held with the Department of Business and Trade as the licensing authority on exporting strategic goods. HM Government publishes the Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) on export licences granted, refused, and revoked to all destinations: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data. These reports contain detailed information, including the overall value, the type, and a summary of the items covered by these licences.

Yes. The UK government has, in responding to various written questions, acknowledged full awareness of the security challenges in Nigeria. HMG often expresses concern and does make condemnation statements about the various atrocities. In 2021, The British High Commissioner in Nigeria, Ms Catriona Laing (British High Commissioner to Nigeria since 2018) wrote about her grave concerns stating: The UK government has recognised the insurgency in The North-Eastern geo-political zone of Nigeria as terrorism

The various known Jihadist groups are known to have different localised command structures however they are all tied together by a common purpose and are known to be increasingly cooperating together. The Islamic State which is also referred to as ISIS has various cells and affiliates operating in different parts of the world e.g. ISWAP (Islamic State, West Africa Province), and others not listed.

The British government does not have direct responsibility for addressing the security crisis in Nigeria as Nigeria is its own independent sovereign state however the UK does have a moral responsibility as a leading nation of the commonwealth, as a fellow independent nation in our inter-connected world which the UK has peaceful and cooperative diplomatic relationships with and as the nation that formed Nigeria by merging together it’s various component parts and put in place the foundational structures upon which it has developed as a nation. In 2018, The UK during the premiership of Prime Minister, Theresa May signed a Defence cooperation partnership arrangement. This agreement has not been rescinded at any time and is therefore in force. On the basis of the above points, it remains appropriate to address the question of the effectiveness of the UK concerning Nigeria’s security challenges. We currently do not have stats from HMG to show how effective the partnership has been but we are writing to HMG to request the stats and we will update them here.

Yes. The UK government has, in responding to various written questions, acknowledged full awareness of the security challenges in Nigeria. HMG often expresses concern and does make condemnation statements about the various atrocities. In 2021, The British High Commissioner in Nigeria, Ms Catriona Laing (British High Commissioner to Nigeria since 2018) wrote about her grave concerns stating: The UK government has recognised the insurgency in The North-Eastern geo-political zone of Nigeria as terrorism