President Bola Tinubu unveiled the African Counter-Terrorism Summit in Abuja on Monday, which aims to enhance multilateral counter-terrorism cooperation and reshape the international community’s collective response to African terrorism. The summit, organized by Nigeria with support from the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, will focus on strengthening regional cooperation and institution-building to address the evolving threat of terrorism.
During the summit, Tinubu advocated for the establishment of a regional counter-terrorism center that will serve as a hub for intelligence sharing, operational coordination, and capacity building throughout Africa. He expressed the need for a comprehensive approach to combating terrorism, addressing its root causes, including poverty, inequality, and social injustice, and cutting off the financial lifelines that fuel terrorist activities.
Tinubu also highlighted the importance of a regional standby force with a mandate to tackle terrorism, stating that it must not be abandoned. He acknowledged the funding, legal, and logistical complexities but emphasized the need for progress towards this goal.
The President also emphasized the need to halt the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons on the continent, affirming Nigeria’s commitment to working with regional partners to strengthen arms control measures, enhance border security, and disrupt illicit trafficking networks that fuel terrorism and organized crime.
In addition to these measures, Tinubu called for establishing an all-inclusive African Union Ministerial Committee on Counter-Terrorism, which would ensure that a forum of high-level government officials meets regularly to assess counter-terrorism efforts and provide guidance on improvement.
The African leaders’ summit on Monday echoed the need for enhanced regional collaboration in the campaign against terrorism, with the potential creation of a unified military force among the proposed solutions. The summit underscored the urgency of addressing the continent’s security challenges and finding lasting solutions through African-led initiatives.
