Abuja, Nigeria – President Bola Tinubu has advocated for the creation of a regional counter-terrorism centre to serve as a hub for intelligence sharing, operational coordination, and capacity building across Africa. He made this call at the African High-level Meeting on Counter-Terrorism held in Abuja.
The President emphasized that Africa must adopt a comprehensive approach to combat terrorism, which includes addressing its root causes such as poverty, inequality, and social injustice. He further stressed that Africa must also tackle the sources that fuel terrorism, such as ransom and illegal mining.
“Billions upon billions of dollars that legitimate governments should be using to sculpt better societies by providing education, healthcare, and food for its people now go to pay for weapons and response to mayhem,” the President stated.
He pointed out the connection between illegal mining and the financing of terrorism, and called on the international community to assist in this cause as it is external finance, not African money, that fuels these illegal operations.
President Tinubu underscored the urgent need for a fully operational Regional Counter-Terrorism Centre as a key to collective efforts against terrorism. He also highlighted the importance of strengthening existing counter-terrorism structures such as the Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit (RIFU) in Abuja, the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) in Algiers, and the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA) in Addis Ababa.
The President further emphasized the need for a regional standby force that includes tackling terrorism as part of its mandate. He acknowledged the funding, legal, and logistical complexities that face the proper establishment of such a force but asserted that with a prudent and clearly defined mandate that respects national sovereignty, such a force can serve as a rapid deployment mechanism, capable of swiftly responding to major threats and bolstering the security of the region.
President Tinubu also spoke about Nigeria’s efforts in combating terrorism, stating that the nation’s counter-terrorism capabilities have been enhanced through the enactment of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act and the establishment of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).
“Dedicated to coordinating and implementing counter-terrorism strategies, the NCTC significantly enhances our capacity to detect, prevent, and respond to terrorism,” the President said.
