The European Union (EU) has reaffirmed its commitment to Nigeria’s sovereignty and pledged to deepen cooperation in peacebuilding, human rights, and interfaith dialogue.
Speaking in Lagos, the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Gautier Mignot, said the EU’s stance was guided by a long-standing partnership and shared values, not by any external influence.
“Our position is one of solidarity with Nigeria — with victims of violence, with authorities protecting citizens, and with Nigerians who seek peaceful coexistence beyond ethnic and religious divides,” Mignot said.
He added that the EU respected Nigeria’s sovereignty and constitutional neutrality on religion, while continuing to support programmes promoting deradicalisation, demobilisation, and reintegration of former fighters in the North-East.
Mignot acknowledged Nigeria’s human rights challenges but noted that the country’s legal framework provides for fundamental freedoms that should be upheld and strengthened.
He also announced that a peace, security, and defence dialogue between the EU and Nigeria would be held soon to deepen strategic cooperation.
“The EU’s engagement with Nigeria is built on shared interests in stability, prosperity, and democracy. Nigeria’s future lies firmly in the hands of Nigerians themselves,” he said.
The statement came in response to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threats of possible military action against Nigeria over alleged anti-Christian violence and religious intolerance.
