“The launch of this Strategic Plan is more than a ceremonial event,” Akpabio told the gathering at the State House Conference Centre. “It is a defining moment in our collective quest to modernise Nigeria’s security architecture, protect our citizens from constantly evolving threats, and remove the heavy yoke of insecurity that has for too long slowed our development, disrupted education, chased away investors, and broken the spirit of entire communities.”
The Senate President did not mince words about the toll terrorism has exacted on the country. From the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East to banditry and kidnapping in the North-West and North-Central zones, and from separatist agitation in the South-East to farmer-herder clashes across the Middle Belt, insecurity has become a national emergency that demands an emergency response.
“This strategy,” he continued, “gives us a disciplined, whole-of-government and whole-of-society framework to transform our institutions, integrate cutting-edge technology, sharpen intelligence coordination, and forge unbreakable collaboration across all tiers of government and every segment of society.”
- Akpabio identified three interlocking pillars that will drive the plan’s success:
- Strengthening national resilience through robust early-warning systems, community-based intelligence networks, and deradicalisation programmes;
- Integrating modern technology – ranging from unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and advanced surveillance systems to cybersecurity platforms and artificial-intelligence-driven predictive analytics;
- Deepening regional and international cooperation to choke the flow of funds, arms and ideology that sustain transnational terrorist networks.
He placed particular emphasis on the role of the private sector, urging Nigerian companies to see counter-terrorism financing not as charity but as an investment in the stability required for profit and growth. At the same time, he gave a firm assurance that the National Assembly would enforce the highest standards of transparency and accountability in every naira spent and every partnership formed.
“The National Assembly will not be a passive bystander,” Akpabio warned. “We will closely monitor implementation, demand quarterly progress reports, and ensure that no kobo is diverted from this sacred national assignment.”
Representing the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Coordinator of the NCTC, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka (retd), explained that the Strategic Plan is the product of more than two years of rigorous research, stakeholder consultations, and hard lessons drawn from over fifteen years of counter-insurgency operations.
Gen. Laka highlighted the plan’s recognition that bullets and bombs alone cannot end terrorism. Social drivers – youth unemployment, drug abuse, collapse of traditional value systems, and the absence of economic opportunity – must be tackled head-on. To that end, the document incorporates non-kinetic approaches such as the “Seeds of Hope” initiative, which uses agriculture, vocational training and micro-enterprise to rehabilitate repentant fighters and provide sustainable livelihoods for victims of terrorism.
The plan, he revealed, is built around six strategic objectives: enhancing intelligence collection and sharing; strengthening operational coordination; modernising legal and judicial frameworks; amplifying strategic communication to counter extremist narratives; building societal resilience; and projecting Nigeria as a regional leader in counter-terrorism.
Dr Usman Hussain, speaking on behalf of the African Union Commission, praised Nigeria’s transformation of the NCTC into a Centre of Excellence that now trains personnel from across West Africa and the Sahel. He announced that AU technical missions and a continental peer-review mechanism will visit Nigeria in 2026 to further strengthen institutional capacity.
The applause that greeted the formal unveiling was thunderous. Security chiefs – including representatives of the Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Directors-General of the Department of State Services and the National Intelligence Agency – rose to pledge total commitment. Development partners, from the United Nations to the European Union delegation, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, promised technical assistance, training support, and funding for priority projects. Private-sector leaders, led by the President of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and the Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, committed to establishing a Counter-Terrorism Financing Trust Fund.
As the curtains fell on the event, one message rang clear: the Strategic Plan 2025–2030 is not just another government document destined to gather dust on a shelf. It is a national covenant – a promise that Nigeria will no longer yield to fear, that communities devastated by terror will be rebuilt, that children will return to school without dread, and that investors will once again see the country as a land of opportunity rather than risk.
Whether that promise is kept will depend on sustained political will, adequate funding, ruthless accountability, and the active participation of every Nigerian – from the village head in Gwoza to the tech start-up founder in Lagos. For now, the country has taken a decisive step forward. The road ahead remains long and perilous, but for the first time in many years, there is a map, a compass, and a shared conviction that the destination – a Nigeria free from the scourge of terrorism – is within reach.
