President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate preparation of a National Threat Assessment and a five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan aimed at improving coordination among Nigeria’s defence, intelligence and security agencies.
The President gave the directive on Wednesday during the Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House, Abuja, stressing the need for a unified strategy to address Nigeria’s changing security challenges.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, said in a statement that Adeyinka Famadewa, special adviser on homeland security, would coordinate the nine-member committee constituted by Tinubu to prepare the strategic defence operations plan and provide secretariat support.
Members of the committee include National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu; Defence Minister Christopher Musa; Minister of State for Defence Bello Muhammad Matawalle; Chief of Defence Staff General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; and Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Idi Abbas.
Also on the committee are the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi, and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Muhammed Muhammed.
Tinubu said the new framework would create a shared understanding of the country’s security threats, define operational priorities and identify the capabilities needed to respond effectively.
The President pointed to recent security achievements, including the rescue of abducted pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, as evidence of the importance of stronger cooperation among security agencies.
“The operation demonstrated what can be achieved when our agencies work together with a clear objective and the necessary intelligence,” Tinubu said.
According to the President, security requirements have often been addressed separately without a common national threat assessment or medium-term operational plan, making coordination and resource allocation more difficult.
The National Threat Assessment will identify major threats facing Nigeria, rank their urgency and establish objectives for tackling them.
The Strategic Defence Operations Plan will translate those findings into operational priorities, including required forces, capability gaps, equipment needs, support requirements and timelines for implementation.
The committee has been directed to begin work immediately and submit the completed documents to the President within 90 days for approval.
Once approved, the plan will serve as the main framework guiding military and defence operations over the next five years and will support a multi-year defence spending and procurement strategy.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the National Security Adviser have also been instructed to ensure the directives are implemented without delay.
