In a decisive move to overhaul Nigeria’s homeland security architecture, the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (rtd) has convened the maiden Homeland Security Stakeholders’ Meeting where he rolled out four priorities to address the country’s security challenges.
The forum brought together the country’s top security chiefs and heads of critical Ministries, Departments and Agencies to forge a united front against Nigeria’s evolving security threats.
The high-level gathering, the first of its kind since the creation of the office, marks a significant step in President Bola Tinubu’s broader effort to institutionalise a coordinated, intelligence-driven and technology-enabled security framework for the country.
Famadewa, a retired senior military officer with extensive experience in counter terrorism and strategic operations, was appointed to the position to help drive a whole-of-government response to these threats.
He reaffirmed President Tinubu’s commitment to building “a secure, resilient and technology-driven homeland security ecosystem” capable of confronting both existing and emerging threats. He stressed that achieving this vision would require sustained inter-agency collaboration, intelligence sharing and coordinated action.
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The strategic priorities that will guide the work of the office were listed as unified Surveillance Programme — aimed at enhancing situational awareness across the country through integrated monitoring systems; identity Management and Anonymity Concerns — targeted at reducing the exploitation of anonymous platforms for criminal activities by strengthening identity verification frameworks; border Security — through enhanced coordination among border agencies, deployment of modern technology and intelligence-led operations and early Warning, Crisis Reporting and Response Mechanisms — to facilitate timely detection of threats, coordinated decision-making and rapid response to emergencies.
Addressing concerns about possible overlap of functions with existing security agencies, Famadewa was emphatic that the mandate of his office is to complement, not replace, existing security efforts. He commended the armed forces and other security agencies for their sacrifices in restoring peace across the country and underscored the importance of non-kinetic approaches in building long-term societal resilience.
The clarification is significant, coming against the backdrop of ongoing public debate over the proliferation of security-related offices and the need for clearer coordination among them.
Robust Stakeholder Engagement
Participants at the meeting engaged in robust discussions, exchanged perspectives based on their respective institutional mandates, and reaffirmed their collective commitment to fostering greater synergy in implementing the strategic priorities.
The stakeholders acknowledged that the complex and evolving nature of contemporary security challenges demands a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach anchored on collaboration, information sharing, technological innovation and institutional coordination.
Participants agreed to establish appropriate coordination mechanisms, sustain regular stakeholder engagements, and develop actionable implementation frameworks that will translate the agreed priorities into measurable outcomes in support of national security and public safety.
Present were Permanent Secretary, Special Services Office, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Director-General of the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience.
The armed forces, relevant ministries, security and intelligence agencies, regulatory bodies and other critical stakeholders were also duly represented.
The Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security was established by the Tinubu administration as part of measures to complement the work of the traditional armed forces and intelligence community, at a time when Nigeria continues to grapple with a complex mix of insecurity — from insurgency in the North-East and banditry in the North-West, to separatist agitations in the South-East, oil theft in the Niger Delta, and rising cases of kidnapping, cybercrime and cross-border criminality nationwide.
Crediblenewsng.com
