The Federal Government and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen defence and military cooperation between both nations.

The agreement, according to a statement by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of State, Defence, Ahmed Dan Wudil, will cover strategic security collaboration.

The new memorandum will explore military training, intelligence sharing, defence production, and joint operations for sustainable security development.

The pact was signed on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Mohammed Bello Matawalle, while Dr. Khaleed H. Al-Biyari signed for the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

It noted that the agreement marks a significant step toward boosting bilateral relations and cooperation, as well as enhancing collaborative efforts to tackle emerging security challenges in the country.

The minister said the agreement is a welcome development, noting the current security challenges in some parts of the country will soon be over.

In other news, President Bola Tinubu’s former spokesman in the Southeast, Denge Josef Onoh, has asked the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle, to immediately resign from his position for his public expression of sympathy for acts of terrorism.

An old video recently surfaced where Matawalle, as Governor of Zamfara State, expressed sympathy to terrorists, saying that the bandits were their own brothers who were pushed into terrorism.

But reacting to the development, Onoh noted that Nigeria is engaged in an existential war against terrorism, banditry and violent extremism, where the armed forces, supported by sister security agencies, have paid an extraordinary price in blood and treasure to protect the territorial integrity and citizens of this country.

He stated that in the critical moment, the Nigerian people have an absolute right to demand that every individual occupying a sensitive national security position be unequivocally committed to the total defeat of terrorists and bandits, without ambiguity, sympathy and without a troubling past that casts doubt on their impartiality.

It is against this background that the resurfacing of a 2021 video of the current Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle, openly defending armed bandits and advocating dialogue and amnesty for them, has caused justifiable national outrage and consternation.