He noted that the exploitative and disruptive use of cyberspace for misinformation and disinformation campaigns by terrorist groups has remained a significant challenge undermining the ongoing efforts at fostering security and stability in the region. Following the momentous gains by the Nigerian government in curbing this menace through the National Cyber Security Centre in Abuja, in the areas of cyber space monitoring, surveillance and intelligence gathering capacities, he, then, urged the region to also leverage Nigeria’s existing infrastructure to establish regional mechanisms to curb the menace.
President Tinubu said: “Security cooperation remains central to Nigeria’s national interest and regional stability. Through joint initiatives, intelligence sharing, and coordinated operations, Nigeria seeks to enhance our collective ability to combat terrorism, transnational organized crimes and other forms of insecurity that undermine our individual and collective development. We therefore welcome partnerships that respect our sovereignty and uphold international law, as well as promote mutual trust.
“We recognize that the security situation in large parts of West Africa remains volatile, as the number of victims and casualties of violence, including women and children, continues to rise. We also recognize that central to this turmoil is the lack of a single counter terrorism focal point, as well as thinly spread defence formations from border environs to urban areas developments that have resulted in power vacuums outside State capitals, which militant groups have increasingly exploited.
“These power vacuums have afforded Sahel-based terrorists the freedom to expand their activities from central Sahel to littoral West Africa, with Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana, among others, bearing the brunt. The implication of this development is worrying, as it affords these groups the latitude to create corridors linking Sahel-based terrorist groups with organized criminal networks traversing the region’s porous borders.
“Coming amidst United States (US) government’s intensified anti-narcotics campaign in South America, there are concerns that drug cartels may have already begun relocating their operations to weaker jurisdictions in West Africa, where enforcement capacity appears to be lower. Your Excellencies, this development is worrying as it could bring financially solvent drug cartels into closer proximity with insurgents operating in the region as the latter could provide logistics and secured smuggling routes in exchange for cash from the former.
“Aside other aspects undermining Counter Terrorism efforts in West Africa in recent times, overreliance on foreign support; unwillingness of States to sub-ordinate their defence decision to a supranational authority; and political division across what many have described as “an emerging ECOWAS – AES divide,” have become our foremost challenges. Thus, in a bid to address longstanding and emerging misapprehensions among member states, there is need to separate political proclivities from security collaborative initiatives, to pave the way for sustainable security partnerships. For purposes of emphasis, Nigeria is favorably disposed to more collaborative and multilateral approaches aimed at dealing with security crisis in the Sahel.
“Beyond concerns over political and diplomatic challenges, it is noteworthy that States in the region often neglect root causes of instability, such as poverty, governance deficits, marginalization, and over militarization of CT strategies. This is evidenced by the skewness of annual budgets which often prioritize debt servicing, recurrent expenditure, development in state capitals, as well as defence spending despite several macroeconomic indices signaling the need for urgent government interventions in vulnerable jurisdictions.
“…As such, ECOWAS and the AES states must find ways to de-escalate tensions and re-establish an all-inclusive framework that equally reflects shared security and economic interests, which are mutually beneficial for all parties.”