Nigeria is seeking stronger international partnerships to tackle terrorism, banditry, oil theft, cybercrime and other emerging security threats.
The Minister of Defence, retired General Christopher Musa, made the call on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Musa said Nigeria’s security challenges had become too interconnected for any single institution or country to address alone, stressing the need for cooperation involving government, communities, international partners and the private sector.
He said military and other security operations remained necessary to protect citizens and Nigeria’s territorial integrity, but added that lasting peace and stability could not be achieved through military action alone.
According to the minister, Nigeria is seeking practical partnerships with the United Nations, African Union, ECOWAS, bilateral partners, civil society, researchers and the private sector to strengthen the country’s security capabilities and institutions.
He said the Federal Government was also pursuing measures including the recruitment of 22,000 additional security personnel, restructuring of Army divisions and stronger subnational security arrangements, alongside proposals for state police and forest guards.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, retired Major-General Adeyinka Famadewa, said Nigeria was shifting from a capability-driven to a threat-driven security strategy.
Famadewa said the approach would identify the country’s major security threats, determine capability gaps and guide the prioritisation of resources.
He added that the government was working on a five-year framework for acquiring critical security capabilities while strengthening Nigeria’s domestic defence production capacity.
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