France President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday urged Nigeria’s international partners to scale up engagement and support for the country’s fight against terrorism and related security threats, declaring that “no one can remain a spectator” in the face of rising violent extremism in West Africa.
In a post on his verified X handle, @EmmanuelMacron, the French leader said he had spoken with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to whom he conveyed France’s solidarity “in the face of the various security challenges, particularly the terrorist threat in the North.”
Macron said France would, at the request of the Nigerian government, strengthen its security partnership with the authorities and increase humanitarian support to communities affected by violence.
“At his request, we will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations. We call on all our partners to step up their engagement,” the French President stated.
“No one can remain a spectator,” Macron added, in what appears to be a direct appeal to Western allies and regional partners to collaborate more robustly with Nigeria as it battles terrorism, banditry and other criminal incursions.
Nigeria has in recent months escalated military operations across the North-East, North-Central and the North-West, amid renewed international concern over the activities of extremist groups and cross-border criminal networks in the Sahel region.
The Nigerian Presidency has yet to issue an official response to Macron’s message as of the time of filing this report.