President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged West African and Sahelian states to reactivate a regional standby force as part of broader efforts to boost collective security and counterterrorism cooperation. He proposed that the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) in Abuja serve as a shared intelligence and operations hub for participating countries.
The appeal was made at a High-Level Conference on Security and Regional Cooperation in Accra, Ghana, held from Jan. 29–30, 2026, hosted by Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama and attended by regional leaders and security officials. Tinubu’s position was conveyed by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to regional peace and stability, stressing that joint action, intelligence sharing, and multilateral approaches are vital to tackling terrorism, violent extremism, transnational organised crime, and other insecurity challenges.
The call comes amid concerns shared by West African leaders about rising violence across the region, considered by some delegates at the Accra conference to have become a “global epicentre” of terrorism and violent extremist activity. Conference participants agreed that existing responses must evolve into structured, permanent frameworks for cooperation, improving information sharing, harmonising legal tools and building collective capacity.
Nigeria has highlighted its own recent efforts to disrupt extremist and criminal networks through partnerships with regional intelligence bodies and its cyber and counterterrorism infrastructure, including an MoU with the African Union on continental cooperation.
Regional leaders appear to be seeking deeper integration of security mechanisms, prioritising shared intelligence, coordinated action and addressing root causes of instability. Tinubu’s proposal for a centralised hub in Abuja reflects Nigeria’s position as a key security actor in West Africa.
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