President Bola Tinubu has called for the reinvigoration of the Regional Standby Force to strengthen collective security efforts in West Africa and the Sahel, and called on regional countries to utilize Nigeria’s National Counter-Terrorism Center in Abuja as a hub for intelligence and operations.
Mr. Tinubu’s position was conveyed in Nigeria’s official statement delivered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, at the Conference on the Security Situation, Operational Challenges and Future Risk Trajectories in West Africa and the Sahel Region, held from January 29 to 30, 2026 in Accra, Ghana.
According to a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday by the Special Assistant on Communications and New Media to the Minister, Magnus Ezeh, the President reaffirmed Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding peace, security and stability in the region and stressed the need for enhanced multilateral cooperation to address the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel region.
“Nigeria favors a more cooperative and multilateral approach aimed at addressing security crises in the Sahel region,” Tinubu said.
He noted that Nigeria must continue to monitor and deter terrorist activities through joint efforts with regional and continental institutions, including the Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit, Liaison Fusion Unit, East Africa Fusion Unit, and African Intelligence and Security Commission.
He recalled that in 2025, the NCTC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Union on cooperative counter-terrorism efforts to combat terrorism and violent extremism across the continent.
“This center is therefore well placed to support regional mechanisms and serve as an intelligence coordination hub in integrated counter-terrorism efforts,” the President added.
Tinubu also warned of the increasing use of cyberspace for misinformation and disinformation campaigns by terrorist groups, saying this undermines security and stability in the region.
Tinubu urged other West African countries to leverage Nigeria’s infrastructure to establish regional mechanisms to counter cyber threats, after what he said was Nigeria’s “significant achievements” in cyber surveillance, surveillance and intelligence gathering through the National Cyber Security Center in Abuja.
“Security cooperation remains central to Nigeria’s national interests and regional stability. Through joint initiatives, intelligence sharing and coordinated operations, Nigeria aims to strengthen our collective capacity to combat terrorism, transnational organized crime and other forms of insecurity that undermine our country’s individual and collective development,” he said.
Tinubu said the security situation in much of West Africa remains precarious and the number of victims of violence, including women and children, is increasing.
He pointed to the absence of a single counter-terrorism hub and thinly spread defensive formations as key factors creating a power vacuum that militants exploited.
“This power vacuum has given Sahel-based terrorists the freedom to expand their operations from the central Sahel to the West African coast, with Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana bearing the brunt,” he said.
He called on ECOWAS and AES countries to reduce tensions and re-establish a comprehensive framework that reflects common security and economic interests.
