FG Inaugurates Committee to Review National Security Strategy 2026

Linus Aleke in Abuja

The federal government, yesterday, inaugurated a 33-member committee to review the 2019 National Security Strategy and develop a new framework for addressing emerging security threats.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Abuja, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, urged the committee members to produce a comprehensive, realistic and actionable document that reflects the country’s changing security environment.

Represented by the committee chairman, Major General Sarkin Bello, the NSA said Nigeria’s domestic, regional and global security landscapes had changed significantly since the last review in 2019, necessitating a reassessment of the country’s security priorities.

“Our national security landscape is undergoing rapid and profound transformations. Since the last review of our strategy in 2019, the domestic, regional and global security environments have changed dramatically in intensity,” he said.

Ribadu identified terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cyber threats, misinformation, economic challenges, food insecurity and environmental problems as some of the threats the new strategy must address.

Against this backdrop, he said the National Security Strategy 2026 would provide an overarching framework for coordinating national security, resilience and sustainable development.

“The National Security Strategy 2026 will serve as an overarching compass for coordinating national security, resilience and sustainable development for Nigeria.

“It must reflect our current realities, anticipate future disruptions and directly support the realisation of our national objectives amid the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in the areas of human security, economic transformation and national cohesion,” Ribadu said.

He further urged committee members to engage relevant institutions and stakeholders in developing a strategy that could be effectively implemented.

“Engage robustly with our resource institutions and strategic stakeholders to produce a comprehensive, realistic and actionable document. Nigeria demands a strategy that is realistic and implementable,” he said.