President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for the reactivation of a regional standby force to strengthen collective security efforts in West Africa and the Sahel, proposing the use of Nigeria’s National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Abuja, as a key intelligence and operational fusion hub.
The call was contained in Nigeria’s official statement delivered on his behalf by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, at a conference on security situation, operational challenges and future risk trajectories in West Africa and the Sahel, held in Accra, Ghana, from January 29 to 30, 2026.
The President reaffirmed Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding peace, security and stability across West Africa and the Sahel, stressing the need for renewed regional cooperation in addressing evolving security threats.
He noted that Nigeria remains favourably disposed to collaborative and multilateral approaches to tackling the security crisis in the Sahel, particularly the growing threats posed by terrorism and transnational crime.
According to the statement, Nigeria has continued to monitor and disrupt latent terrorist activities through a range of national and regional initiatives, working closely with institutional structures such as the Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit (RIFU), Liaison Fusion Unit (UFL), Eastern African Fusion Unit and the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA), among others.
The President emphasised that revitalising the regional standby force would enhance intelligence sharing, operational coordination and collective response to security challenges threatening the stability of the region.
