The Federal Government has inaugurated a 33-member committee to review Nigeria’s 2019 National Security Strategy and develop a new framework to address emerging security challenges.
At the inauguration ceremony in Abuja on Thursday, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, charged the committee to produce a comprehensive, practical and actionable document that reflects the country’s changing security environment.
Ribadu, who was represented by the committee’s chairman, retired Major General Sarkin Bello, said Nigeria’s domestic, regional and international security conditions had changed significantly since the last review in 2019, making a reassessment of national priorities necessary.
He identified terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cyber threats, misinformation, economic challenges, food insecurity and environmental problems among the issues the revised strategy must address.
According to the NSA, the National Security Strategy 2026 is expected to provide an overarching framework for coordinating national security, resilience and sustainable development.
He said the document must reflect current realities, anticipate future disruptions and support the country’s national objectives under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in human security, economic transformation and national cohesion.
In his acceptance remarks, the committee’s Deputy Chairman, retired Major General Emeka Onumajuru, said the changing nature of security threats required a comprehensive strategic realignment.
He noted that conventional threats such as terrorism, insurgency and banditry were increasingly connected to non-kinetic challenges, including cyber vulnerabilities, economic difficulties, food insecurity and climate change.
The committee has four weeks to submit its final draft to the National Security Adviser.
Its membership includes representatives of government ministries, the Armed Forces, intelligence agencies, law enforcement institutions, civil society organisations and academia.
Deborah Adeyefa
