LAGOS: Nigeria and Turkiye have struck a defense agreement to help Africa's most populous nation fight its 17-year-long insurgency, the Nigerian defense minister said on Saturday.

"We have agreed to move into training, production, and improving on our defense industry cooperation," Christopher Musa told Turkish media while on a trip to Antalya, according to the Anadolu agency.

Musa stated that 200 members of the Nigerian Army's Special Forces would be sent to Turkiye for training.

Nigeria's longstanding security woes have drawn the ire of the United States in recent months, with President Donald Trump claiming that the country's Christians face "persecution."

Both the Nigerian government and experts have rejected that argument, pointing out that the multi-religious country's overlapping conflicts kill Christians and Muslims alike.

Yet the West African country has still managed to find common ground with Washington on defense, with the US deploying around 200 soldiers to the country and launching Christmas Day airstrikes on the northern state of Sokoto last year.

Besides radical Islamists from Boko Haram and its rival splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province, Nigeria is also plagued by gangs of armed criminals known as bandits who pillage, kill and kidnap in the northwest.

The country also has to contend with the worsening security crisis across the Sahel -- the vast region bordering the southern Sahara desert -- which has allowed militants to expand across West Africa.

In an attempt to reduce its reliance on the US, Nigeria has sought to diversify its security partners.

Musa's Turkiye trip comes in the wake of President Bola Tinubu's visit in late January, the first by a Nigerian head of state in nine years.

Turkiye is renowned for its inexpensive armed drones, which it exports in large numbers.

"Turkiye has improved dramatically regarding production of military hardware, and Nigeria is still developing," Musa said, adding that the two countries had agreed to produce some items together.

defense deal

Nigeria strikes defense deal with Turkiye