Insecurity: Akpabio unveils Nigeria’s five-year plan for countering terrorism

Nigeria’s Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Monday unveiled the country’s new strategic framework for combating terrorism, a five-year plan expected to run from 2025 to 2030.

The security blueprint, known as the Nigeria Counter-Terrorism Strategic Plan, was developed by the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

Speaking at the unveiling in Abuja, Mr Akpabio said the plan shows Nigeria’s commitment to ensuring citizens can live without fear and secure a peaceful future.

“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 explained that the plan provides a clear framework for transforming Nigeria’s security architecture, modernising institutions, and strengthening national resilience.

“For us, 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,” he said.

Rising insecurity

For over a decade, Nigeria has been grappling with insecurity marked by frequent kidnappings, armed attacks, and violent assaults on communities, schools, and places of worship.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that terrorists, armed with sophisticated weapons, stormed Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, on motorcycles, abducted 25 schoolgirls from their dormitory, killed the school’s vice principal, and injured a local security guard, Ali Maga.

On 19 November, terrorists attacked the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Igan, in Eruku, Kwara State, killing three worshippers and abducting 38 others. All the worshippers were freed on Sunday.

Last Friday, armed men invaded the St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, and abducted 303 pupils, students, and staff, triggering widespread outrage and renewed calls for improved security in the state and the country.

Fifty of the abductees have escaped from their captors, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

These incidents form part of a troubling escalation in banditry, terrorism, and communal violence that has stretched Nigeria’s security agencies thin.

Akpabio on impact of insecurity

The Senate President said he has seen firsthand how insecurity has harmed Nigeria’s economy, forcing investors to withdraw due to fears for their lives and property.

He added that the situation has driven farmers away from their fields, shut down schools, and eroded the hope of many young people, a development he described as a key reason for designing the new security plan.

“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,” he added.

What the National Assembly is doing

Mr Akpabio stated that the 10th National Assembly has passed major laws in defence, policing, intelligence coordination, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism, and has enhanced inter-agency collaboration and the welfare of security personnel.

“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,” he said.

He, however, stressed that legislation alone cannot solve Nigeria’s insecurity challenges without corresponding investments in people, technology, training, and strategic partnerships.

“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,” Mr Akpabio added.

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who was represented by the Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Adamu Laka, a major general, said the plan was the product of extensive research, inter-agency work and consultations with government ministries, security agencies, academics, civil society and international partners.

He said the vision is to position the National Counter Terrorism Centre as a regional hub for counter-terrorism and violent extremism efforts in West Africa and the Sahel.