Abuja – President Bola Tinubu and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, have jointly advocated for a comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s national security architecture, stressing the urgent need for a multi-layered strategy to address the country’s complex and evolving security threats.
The call was made during a one-day legislative dialogue on constitutional review and national security, organized by the House Committee on Constitution Review in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser.
President Tinubu, represented at the event by the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, emphasized the necessity of aligning Nigeria’s security framework with current realities. He warned that neither total centralization nor full fragmentation of the system could adequately secure the nation.
“The growing calls for state police, the challenges of cybercrime and cybersecurity, and the urgent need for improved intelligence sharing demand a more adaptive and cooperative security architecture,” he stated.
The President cited a range of national threats—including terrorism in the Northeast, banditry in the Northwest, farmer-herder clashes in the Middle Belt, and separatist movements in the Southeast—as challenges that exceed the capacity of any single security agency to manage alone.
He highlighted the government’s integrated security approach, which includes intelligence fusion, joint task force operations, and coordinated offensives. According to him, this strategy has led to the dismantling of separatist cells in the Southeast and the disruption of criminal networks in the Northwest.
“These efforts have resulted in a notable decline in high-profile kidnappings and more effective responses to cross-border threats,” Tinubu said, citing the success of a whole-of-government strategy.
President Tinubu also pointed to achievements under his Renewed Hope Agenda, including the establishment of the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre, the deployment of surveillance drones, the acquisition of mine-resistant vehicles, and the rollout of a community policing model aimed at rebuilding public trust in law enforcement.
Speaker Abbas, in his remarks, echoed the President’s call for stronger legislative support and a robust legal framework to enable enhanced collaboration and intelligence-sharing among Nigeria’s security agencies.
