Nigeria and the Republic of Sao Tome and Principe would establish a joint military commission to provide security for the joint exploration of oil in the Gulf of Guinea.

The agreement was reached yesterday at the end of the bilateral talks between Vice President Goodluck Jonathan and the visiting Prime Minister of Sao Tome and Principe Joachim Rafael Branco at the Presidential Villa Abuja.

Vice President Jonathan called for the immediate take-off of the commission in line with the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) treaty, warning that if recent security threat in the Gulf of Guinea was not checked, it could threaten the national security and impede economic development of both countries.

"Recent security developments in the Gulf of Guinea, especially on the illegal trafficking if arms and ammunition, child trafficking and piracy have become serious concerns for members of the Gulf of Guinea Commission. If the situation is allowed to deteriorate without instituting a mechanism to check the atrocities, it could threaten our national security and impede our economic development," he said

Jonathan added: "I therefore call for the immediate inauguration of the Bilateral Military Commission as provided in the JDA Treaty. The BMC would provide security for the oil companies operating in the JDZ."

A communiqué, signed by Nigeria's Minister of State II for Foreign Affairs Bagudu Hirse and the Foreign Affairs Minister of Sao Tome and Principe Carlos Alberto Tiny, issued at the end of the closed-door talks indicated that apart from the joint military commission, both countries would also establish a bi-national commission and will strengthen their relations through joint commission meetings.

In response to Branco's request, Nigeria agreed to collaborate with Sao Tome and provide assistance in agricultural research and exchange of information and agricultural materials.