Ribadu sets up 33-member team to draft new security strategy by late November

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, has assembled a 33-member team to rewrite Nigeria's national security strategy, with a tight four-week deadline to hand in a draft.

The committee was inaugurated in Abuja on Thursday. Its job is to look again at the 2019 strategy and produce a fresh plan for threats the country now faces.

Ribadu, who was represented by the committee's chairman, Major General Sarkin Bello (retd.), said the security picture at home and abroad has shifted sharply since the last review seven years ago.

He listed terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cyber attacks, false information, economic hardship, food insecurity and environmental problems as issues the new document must tackle.

According to him, the 2026 strategy should tie security work to development and to the government's Renewed Hope Agenda, especially on human security, economic growth and national unity.

He asked members to work closely with relevant institutions and stakeholders so the final document can actually be used. "Nigeria demands a strategy that is realistic and implementable," he said.

The Office of the National Security Adviser will provide administrative, technical and logistical support for the work.

Four weeks to deliver

The committee's deputy chairman, Major General Evi Onumajuru (retd.), said the line between conventional and newer threats has blurred. Terrorism, insurgency and banditry now sit alongside cyber weaknesses, economic pressure, food insecurity and climate change, he said.

He argued that the country needs a plan that looks ahead rather than one that only reacts after attacks. "The National Security Strategy 2026 must be an inclusive, forward-looking and highly actionable blueprint," he said.

Onumajuru said the team will consult resource institutions, private sector representatives and traditional rulers so the strategy reflects a wide range of concerns.

The committee has until late November to submit its final draft to the NSA, a timeline Onumajuru called demanding. "It demands immediate, focused momentum," he said.

Members are drawn from government ministries, the Armed Forces, intelligence and law enforcement agencies, civil society and universities. Institutions represented include the Defence Headquarters, the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, the National Intelligence Agency, the Defence Intelligence Agency and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

One source of confusion: the two reports on the event give the deputy chairman's first name differently, with Leadership calling him Evi Onumajuru and ThisDay calling him Emeka Onumajuru.

What happens next

The committee is expected to turn in its draft within four weeks. It is not yet clear when the final strategy will be published or how it will change the way security agencies operate on the ground.