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Nigerian soldiers prepare to patrol during the visit of Nigeria's Chief of Defence Staff General Olufemi Oluyede at the Headquarters Theatre Command Joint Task Force in Maiduguri on March 18, 2026 after one of the deadliest attacks in the Borno state capital in years. [AFP]
Nigeria is working to increase military cooperation with Benin and Niger as jihadists from the Sahel encroach on the country's northwest, the Nigerian defence minister told AFP on Thursday.
Africa's most populous country has been battling homegrown militants since 2009, in a conflict that has been reshaped recently by the growing presence of armed groups from the wider region.
The United States has launched strikes against Islamic State Sahel Province in northwest Nigeria, while analysts are also worried about the presence of the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
