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President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s security environment, directing a Presidential Committee to produce a National Threat Assessment and a Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan within 90 days.
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The committee, inaugurated by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, comprises the country’s top defence.
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The five-year defence plan will guide operational priorities, procurement, force development, intelligence, logistics, infrastructure, training, technology and the strengthening of Nigeria’s defence industrial base.
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The initiative is designed to shift the country’s security planning from largely reactive responses to a coordinated, threat-driven system that links national threats to operational objectives, required capabilities, resources and measurable results.
August 26, (THEWILL) — President Bola Tinubu has ordered a major strategic review of Nigeria’s security architecture, directing a high-level Presidential Committee to develop a comprehensive National Threat Assessment and a Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan within 90 days.
THEWILL reports that the committee was inaugurated on Wednesday by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, who charged members to approach the assignment with professionalism, objectivity, urgency and patriotism.
The two documents are to be submitted to President Tinubu for consideration and approval at the end of the 90 days.
The initiative is aimed at providing the Federal Government with a unified assessment of the threats confronting the country and a long-term operational framework for determining how the military and other security agencies should respond to them.
In a statement signed by Yomi Odunuga, the SGF’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Akume said the inauguration represented an important step towards strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to understand, anticipate, plan for and respond effectively to an increasingly complex and evolving security environment.
He said contemporary security threats had become increasingly interconnected and adaptive, with criminal and hostile elements capable of exploiting gaps between institutions, jurisdictions and operational theatres.
According to him, while the Armed Forces and other security agencies have recorded successes across different theatres in recent months, the government must move beyond responding to individual security challenges as they arise.
Akume said Nigeria needed a security system capable of anticipating threats, establishing priorities, allocating resources rationally and sustaining operational momentum, while ensuring that national security objectives translated into measurable outcomes.
He said the heads of defence, intelligence and security agencies must retain the flexibility to respond to immediate threats, but their operations should be anchored on a shared national understanding of the security environment and a coherent short, medium and long-term strategy.
“In simple terms, we must establish a clear path from threat to objective, from objective to capability, from resource capability, and from resource to measurable outcome,” he said.
Two Key Documents
Akume said the committee would produce two major strategic documents — the National Threat Assessment and the Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan.
He explained that the National Threat Assessment would provide the government with a comprehensive and objective understanding of Nigeria’s security landscape.
It is expected to identify existing and emerging threats, examine their implications and possible evolution, and recommend appropriate responses by the government.
The Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan, on the other hand, will translate the findings of the threat assessment into practical and prioritised operational requirements.
According to the SGF, the plan will identify the forces, equipment, infrastructure, logistics, intelligence and technology required across the country’s different security theatres.
It will also identify capability gaps and establish priorities according to the severity and urgency of identified threats.
Akume said the framework would provide realistic implementation timelines and mechanisms for measuring progress and determining whether desired outcomes were being achieved.
He added that the five-year plan would support force development, capability acquisition, infrastructure development, training, maintenance, research and development, as well as the strengthening of Nigeria’s defence industrial base.
The plan, he said, would operate on a rolling basis and be reviewed annually to reflect emerging threats, changing operational realities, technological developments and lessons learnt from ongoing operations.
The committee was inaugurated by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.
Procurement To Follow Threat Assessment
Under its terms of reference, the committee is expected to review existing and emerging security threats, assess their urgency and strategic implications, define operational priorities and identify capability requirements in each theatre.
It will also determine procurement priorities based on assessed threats and operational requirements rather than institutional preferences.
The committee is further expected to establish implementation steps, timelines and measures for monitoring outcomes.
Akume said the approach would ensure that defence and security spending was linked directly to clearly identified national security requirements.
He noted that Nigerian military and security personnel deserved a strategic framework that clearly defined their objectives and provided the capabilities, resources and support required to accomplish them.
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Security, Intelligence Chiefs On Committee
The committee will be coordinated and supported by the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (rtd).
Its members include the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Muhammad Matawalle; Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas.
Others are the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu; Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi; and Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Muhammed Muhammed.
Famadewa, in his closing remarks, expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for the confidence reposed in members of the committee and urged them to work collectively towards strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture.
He said his role would not be to command members but to facilitate collaboration and harness their collective expertise towards achieving the objectives set by the President.
Famadewa also disclosed that subcommittees would be established to focus on specialised areas of the assignment and ensure that the committee completes its work within the stipulated 90-day timeframe.
The SGF charged members of the committee to discharge the assignment with wisdom, diligence and a strong sense of national responsibility.
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