From Hassan Taiye

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio on Monday formally unveiled Nigeria’s Counter Terrorism Strategic Plan 2025 – 2030.

The Strategic Plan was put together by the National Counter Terrorism Centre in the Office of the National Security Adviser.

In his Keynote address, Akpabio said the occasion was not merely the launch of another policy document but a defining moment in the nation’s journey.

“It is a moment when Nigeria again reaffirms that our people deserve to live without fear, that our children deserve a future of peace, and that our nation must be secured to prosper,” he said.

The Senate President remarked that every generation faced a question that history demanded it must answer.

“For ours, the question is clear: How do we secure our nation, safeguard our people and set Nigeria irreversibly on the path of peace, growth and stability?

“The Strategic Plan 2025 – 2030 answers this question with vision, discipline and ambition. It offers a framework for transforming our institutions, modernising our security architecture, strengthening national resilience and expanding partnerships across government, industry, civil society and the international community”

“As President of the Senate, I have seen how insecurity weakens the foundations of development. Investors withdraw, schools close, farmers abandon their fields, and hope retreats from the hearts of our young people. That is why a pragmatic, forward-looking and implementation-driven plan such as this is timely, necessary and welcome.

“While security is a constitutional responsibility shared by all arms of government, the legislature has a unique obligation — to provide the legal, oversight and budgetary backbone upon which security institutions stand and thrive.

“The 10th National Assembly has taken this duty seriously. We have enacted far-reaching laws in defence, policing, intelligence coordination, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism.

“We have strengthened agency mandates, promoted inter-agency synergy and championed better welfare for those who risk their lives daily so that Nigeria and Nigerians could be secure in their homes, hopeful in their communities, and proud to raise children in a country where safety is not a privilege, but a guarantee.

“But legislation alone cannot secure our country. We must invest in people, technology, training and strategic partnerships.

“We must replace short-term firefighting with long-term planning. That is why this Strategic Plan matters — because it translates intent into action and action into measurable results.

“It recognises that security is not the duty of government alone, but a shared responsibility of citizens, communities, traditional institutions, the private sector, and international allies. It stands out because it reflects a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society approach,” Akpabio said.

In his message at the occasion, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu who was represented by the Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Major General Adamu Laka said the Strategic Plan that was unveiled is a product of extensive research, inter-agency collaboration and consultations across government Ministries, security institutions, academia, civil societies and international partners.

He said the vision is to establish the National Counter Terrorism Centre as a regional centre of excellence in countering terrorism and violent extremism in West Africa and the Sahel.