New York, May 12, 2026 Nigeria’s Defence Adviser to the United Nations, Edward Koleoso, says the country committed more than nine billion dollars toward peacekeeping and military interventions that helped restore stability in Liberia and Sierra Leone during their civil wars.
Koleoso made the remarks while receiving participants from the United States Army War College during a visit to Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.
According to him, Nigeria’s involvement in the peace missions came at enormous financial and human cost, with several military personnel losing their lives in the operations. He noted that despite the sacrifices made, Nigeria never sought compensation for its role in stabilising the two West African nations.
He explained that the intervention was driven by Nigeria’s commitment to regional peace, international security and the welfare of neighbouring countries.
Koleoso expressed satisfaction that both Liberia and Sierra Leone are now enjoying relative peace, stability and development. He also highlighted Sierra Leone’s current position as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council as evidence of the progress achieved since the conflicts ended.
The defence adviser recalled that when the Liberian crisis began in 1990, the then Organization of African Unity lacked the operational capacity to deploy a standing force, while the United Nations was heavily engaged with the conflict in Yugoslavia.
He said Nigeria subsequently took the lead within Economic Community of West African States to establish the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), which intervened to restore order in Liberia before the arrival of UN operations.
Koleoso further stated that since independence, Nigeria has deployed over 200,000 peacekeepers to 41 UN missions across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
He added that Nigerian forces have also played major roles in peace support operations in Darfur, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia and the Benin, reinforcing the country’s longstanding contribution to global peacekeeping and regional security initiatives.