The Federal Government has constituted a high-level committee to develop a comprehensive National Threat Assessment and a rolling five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan for Nigeria.
The committee was inaugurated on Wednesday by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu.
The committee is expected to submit both documents to the President within 90 days for consideration and approval.
Speaking at the inauguration, Akume said the initiative was designed to improve the country’s ability to identify emerging threats, establish priorities and respond more effectively to Nigeria’s changing security challenges.
He urged members of the committee to carry out the assignment with professionalism, objectivity, patriotism and a strong sense of urgency.
According to him, modern security threats are increasingly connected and capable of exploiting weaknesses across institutions, jurisdictions and operational areas.
“Although our Armed Forces and other security agencies have recorded significant successes across different theatres in recent months, we must move beyond responding to individual security challenges,” Akume said.
He explained that the government needed a coordinated system that could anticipate threats, determine priorities, allocate resources effectively and sustain security operations.
The SGF said the proposed framework should create a direct link between identified threats, operational objectives, required capabilities, resources and measurable results.
“In simple terms, we must establish a clear path from threat to objective, from objective to capability, from capability to resource, and from resource to measurable outcome,” he said.
Akume said the National Threat Assessment would provide an objective overview of Nigeria’s security environment, covering both existing and emerging threats, their implications and possible responses.
He added that the assessment would serve as a common planning framework for the military, intelligence agencies and other relevant security institutions.
The five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan, according to him, would convert the findings of the threat assessment into clearly defined and prioritised operational requirements.
However, he noted that the plan would be reviewed annually to reflect new threats, changing operational conditions, technological developments and lessons from ongoing operations.
The committee is being coordinated and supported by the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Maj.-Gen. Adeyinka Famadewa (retd.).
Famadewa said the assignment was a collective national responsibility aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture.
He also disclosed that specialised subcommittees would be created to enable members to focus on specific areas and ensure that the 90-day deadline was met.
Members of the committee include the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; Chief of Defence Staff, Olufemi Oluyede; and the service chiefs.
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, Muhammed Muhammed, are also members.
Akume said the country’s security personnel deserved a strategic framework that clearly defined their responsibilities and provided the resources and capabilities required to protect Nigeria.
He said the exercise would ultimately help the government make better-informed decisions on procurement, logistics, infrastructure, technology, personnel and other defence priorities.
