Akpabio unveils Nigeria’s five-year counter-terrorism plan

Senate President Godswill Akpabio formally unveiledNigeria’s counter-terrorism strategic plan 2025–2030 on Monday. The plan was developed by the National Counter-TerrorismCentre in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). In his keynote address, Akpabio said the occasion was notmerely the launch of a policy document but a defining moment in the country’snational journey. “It is a moment when Nigeria again reaffirms that our peopledeserve to live without fear, that our children deserve a future of peace, andthat our nation must be secured to prosper,” he said. Akpabio said every generation faces a fundamental questionthat history requires it to answer. “For ours, the question is clear: How do we secure ournation, safeguard our people and set Nigeria irreversibly on the path of peace,growth and stability?” he asked. He said the plan provides a framework for transforminginstitutions, modernising the security architecture, strengthening nationalresilience and expanding partnerships across government, industry, civilsociety and the international community. Akpabio said insecurity weakened the foundations ofdevelopment, with investors withdrawing, schools shutting down, farmersabandoning their fields, and hope retreating from the hearts of young people. The ex-Akwa Ibom governor said the plan is timely because itis pragmatic, forward-looking and implementation-driven. He submitted that the legislature has a constitutionalresponsibility to provide legal, budgetary and oversight support to securityinstitutions. The senate president added that the 10th national assemblyhas enacted far-reaching laws in defence, policing, intelligence coordination,cybersecurity and counter-terrorism. Akpabio said these efforts strengthen agency mandates,promote inter-agency synergy and improve welfare for security personnel. He said legislation alone cannot secure the country, addingthat investments in people, technology, training and partnerships is essential. “We must replace short-term firefighting with long-termplanning,” he said. “That is why this strategic plan matters — because ittranslates intent into action and action into measurable results.” The presiding officer said the plan adopts aWhole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society approach by recognising that securityis a shared responsibility among citizens, communities, institutions andinternational partners. In his message, Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser(NSA), who was represented by Adamu Laka, coordinator of the NationalCounter-Terrorism Centre, said the plan is the product of extensive research,inter-agency collaboration and consultations across government ministries,security institutions, academia, civil society and international partners. He said the vision is to establish the National CounterTerrorism Centre as a regional centre of excellence in counter-terrorism andpreventing violent extremism in West Africa and the Sahel.

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