Vernon Coaker, the UK’s deputy defence minister, has called on the British government to pay closer attention to Nigeria’s growing challenges, warning that instability in the West Africa region could have far-reaching global consequences.

Mr Coaker, a life peer member in the House of Lords, gave the charge on March 23 during a debate on the floor of the UK parliament at the Palace of Westminster.

While the parliament discussed the possible effect of the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, a lawmaker, Lord Spellar, noted that there is a long-standing concern about the increasing grip of jihadist groups in northern Africa, with the ability to be supplied by Iran.

Mr Spellar had drawn attention to the expanding influence of jihadist groups across northern Africa and the potential risks posed to European cities, particularly in the context of alleged external support networks from Iran.

“My Lords, I take account of the point raised by the minister regarding the direct threat from Iranian territory.

“However, is there not a long-standing concern about the increasing grip of jihadist groups in northern Africa with the ability to be supplied by Iran, given that they are already often sponsored by Iran, and the ability to launch on a route for which there is not the NATO defence, which is rightly focused on the eastern side of the eastern alliance, and which makes Madrid, Paris and London very vulnerable,” Mr Spellar stated.

Responding, Mr Coaker noted that while the current international focus remains on the Middle East, emerging issues in parts of Africa, including Nigeria and the broader West African region, should not be overlooked.

He explained that policymakers must take a forward-looking approach to global security, stressing that threats should not be dismissed simply because they appear geographically distant.

Mr Coaker also cautioned that instability in regions such as West Africa could eventually have direct or indirect effects on countries such as the UK.

“My noble friend makes an important and good point about instability in other regions. Obviously, the focus at the present time is on the Middle East, but clearly we can see problems in North Africa and wider. Only last week, I met with people from Nigeria and West Africa to talk about Toggle showing location of some of the things that my noble friend talked about,” the UK defence minister explained.

He added, “Any assessment of where we go and what we do in the future has to take account not only of threats that we face now but threats that we may face in the future. It is difficult to have a crystal ball, but all of us need to look at the problems that are occurring and how they may impact us in our own homeland rather than believing that it is thousands of miles away and will never have any impact.”

Since his appointment in 2022, Mr Coaker has pushed for improved collaboration between the UK and Nigeria. During his visit to Nigeria in 2025, Mr Coaker met with the then-defence chief, Christopher Musa, and expressed the UK’s unflinching commitment to providing additional support to Nigeria in tackling terrorism and other security challenges bedevilling the country.

In July 2025, the UK and Nigeria held the Third Security and Defence Partnership Dialogue in London. The dialogue was built on a previous dialogue hosted in Abuja in February 2024. Senior representatives from the UK and Nigerian governments participated in both dialogues.

The third SDP dialogue held in 2025 included defence staff talks, a cyber dialogue, and cross-government dialogues on regional security, counter-terrorism, human rights, policing and civil-military coordination.