Nigeria, France to sign defence pact

Nigeria and France plan to sign a defense cooperation agreement during a security summit holding in Abuja on Saturday.

French President Francois Hollande will be joining summit host Muhammadu Buhari as well as heads of state from Chad, Niger, Cameroun and Benin according to a government statement.

The summit is meant to articulate a regional response to the security threat posed by militatants in West and central Africa.

Since the beginning of the year, neighboring countries including Cameroon and Niger have witnessed a surge in attacks by supporters of the Boko Haram group.

Buhari has pledged to quash the militant organization Boko Haram, whose campaign to impose sharia law has costs thousands of lives in northeastern Nigeria.