The Federal Government has given a presidential committee 90 days to complete a comprehensive assessment of Nigeria’s security threats and produce a five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan aimed at improving the country’s response to existing and emerging security challenges.
The committee was inaugurated in Abuja on Wednesday by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu. The assignment is expected to provide a clearer framework for how Nigeria identifies security threats, sets priorities and deploys available resources.
The initiative follows President Tinubu’s directive for the immediate preparation of a National Threat Assessment and a rolling five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan. The President had directed that the completed documents be submitted within 90 days for his consideration and approval.
The National Threat Assessment is expected to provide a broad picture of the security challenges confronting Nigeria, including both current and emerging threats. It will also assess the seriousness of those threats, their possible evolution and the consequences of failing to address them.
The five-year defence plan is expected to translate that assessment into practical priorities for the military and other relevant security institutions. This includes identifying capability gaps, equipment and infrastructure requirements, intelligence and technology needs, logistics, training priorities and other resources required for security operations.
The government says the broader objective is to move away from a security approach that focuses primarily on responding to individual incidents after they occur. Instead, the proposed framework is intended to encourage longer-term planning and anticipation of threats.
Akume said contemporary security challenges are increasingly interconnected and capable of exploiting gaps between institutions, jurisdictions and operational areas. He therefore stressed the need for stronger coordination among the Armed Forces, intelligence agencies, police and other security institutions.
The committee is also expected to establish implementation timelines and mechanisms for monitoring progress. This is intended to ensure that the eventual strategy does not remain only as a policy document but provides measurable objectives for the agencies responsible for implementing it.
Another important aspect of the plan is resource allocation. The Federal Government said the strategy will provide a basis for a multi-year defence expenditure and procurement framework, with spending linked to identified security priorities and capability requirements.
This could have implications for future defence procurement because equipment and other investments would ideally be tied to specific threats and operational needs identified through the assessment.
The committee is being coordinated and supported by the office of the President’s Special Adviser on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (retd.). Its membership includes the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Defence Minister 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 of the committee.
The committee has the authority to consult or bring in representatives from other ministries, departments and agencies where their expertise is required.
The government has linked the initiative to the need for better coordination amid Nigeria’s continuing security challenges. These include terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of violent crime affecting different parts of the country.
However, the creation of a new strategic framework does not by itself guarantee an improvement in security. Its effectiveness will ultimately depend on whether the recommendations are properly funded, implemented and monitored.
A five-year plan could provide a longer planning horizon for the Armed Forces, particularly in areas such as equipment acquisition, infrastructure, training, maintenance and technology. It could also help security agencies work towards common objectives rather than operating with disconnected priorities.
The 90-day deadline means the committee will have to complete a significant amount of assessment and consultation within a relatively short period. The quality of the final strategy will therefore depend on how comprehensively it evaluates Nigeria’s security environment and how realistically it addresses the country's operational and financial limitations.
Once submitted, the National Threat Assessment and Strategic Defence Operations Plan will require presidential consideration and approval before becoming the framework for the next phase of defence and security planning.
For Nigerians, the key issue will ultimately be whether the new strategy translates into better coordination, faster responses to threats, improved protection of communities and more effective use of public resources.
The Federal Government has therefore placed the committee under a clear 90-day deadline, setting the stage for a major review of Nigeria’s national security priorities and defence requirements.
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