The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Chief of Defence Staff and stakeholders, have gathered to underscores their shared commitment to addressing the critical security challenges confronting the sub-region.
The meeting is currently ongoing at the Defence Headquarters, DHQ, in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria, from 11th to 13th March 2025.
The Nigerian Minister of Defence, Badaru Abubakar, made this known during the 43rd Ordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chief of Defence Staff in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
The Defence Minister said that “as we convene at this pivotal moment, we must remind ourselves of the complex and multifaceted security landscape that befalls our sub-region.”
According to him, the imperative of them in the sub-region to strengthen their bonds and collective resolve is greater now than ever.
He noted that the rise of populist ideologies and revolutionary rhetoric among global powers indicates that they would increasingly be left to their fate in the emerging global order.
“We must as a sub-region therefore recognize that their strive towards economic growth and development will imperatively be fundamental to a homegrown sustainable peace and security,” he added.
He charged them as stakeholders in the sub-region must identify and suitably adjust to the changing order of the global landscape in which emerging threats of terrorism, organized crime, climate change, cybercrime, and pandemics respect no partners.
He stressed that the emphasis on them is a shared responsibility to close ranks in order to break the cycle of terrorism and armed violence that plunge their region today.
“We must therefore address all hindrances to our mutual trust and cohesion,” he said.
He urged them to take advantage of this gathering to close ranks against those threats, adding that their strategy must be focused on seeding fault lines in West Africa, which are being ignited by extremism and political clout.
He highlighted that the activation of the Air Force Standby Force to combat terrorism in the sub-region is important.
“The activation of this force underscores our collective determination to confront the spread of terrorism with regards to insecurity and ensure the safety and security of our citizens. Before I take my seat, let me express my profound gratitude to each of you for the homework, dedication, professionalism, and commitment to the security and well-being of our people,” he added.
The Chairman ECOWAS Committee, General Christopher Musa said that the complexity of the security landscape demands that they leverage their collective expertise, intelligence assets and coordinate their efforts across borders if they must solve these challenges, as the world has become a global village and the gap between them shrinking even more.
“Thus, collaboration is paramount and imperative to address both the root causes and symptoms of insecurity in our region. It is on this premise that the agenda for this meeting was carefully crafted to focus on critical areas while building from our previous engagements,” he added.
According to him, some of these critical areas, include the proposed review of pledges for the ECOWAS Standby Force, consideration of pledges for ECOWAS Standby Force Counterterrorist Brigade and the rotation of Staff Officers of Peace Support Operations Divisions and ECOWAS Standby Force as well as Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea.
Others are the presentation on the outcome of the Governmental Experts Meeting on the ECOWAS Logistics Concept and Standing Operating Procedures for ECOWAS Logistics Depot in Lungi
The meeting will also present and review the report of the last Chiefs of Naval Staff Meeting.
Furthermore, there will be a presentation on the standardisation of the table of equipment for the ECOWAS Standby Force.
He noted that as they embark on today’s discussions, their insights and experiences are paramount to their collective mission, while their sincerity and constructive commitments are essential for productive deliberations.
The Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, ECOWAS, Abdel-Fatau Musah said the Equal Accession States have decided, that they should activate the standby force in this kinetics, that’s a counter-terrorism force, to deal with the menace because the coastal countries are increasingly coming under threat from the northern Sahel side of the region and they need to come together with their Armed Forces and other things to have this brigade that would be a deterrent, to the southward drift of terrorism in the region.
The Commissioner said that “the meeting is another step in the drive toward the activation of the counter-terrorism force adding that they would soon be going to have a meeting of ministers of finance and then the ministers of defense to decide on modalities to fund that.”
He noted that today, with the world as it is, they need to depend upon themselves first before even trying to appeal to others for support.
“So that is one key outcome that we expect from this meeting as we gather here today. The second is that ECOWAS operates about two other missions in the region, one in the Gambia, one also in Guinea-Bissau,” he said.
He added that “the mission also, this meeting would decide how those missions go forward in terms of their mandate and in terms of the sustainability of that. That will be one of the issues here. But I think most importantly, this meeting is also going to be a pledging exercise, right, toward the counter-terrorism force.”
Abdel-Fatau Musah stressed that the member states have already pledged a contingent who will form the core of the brigade that is going to fight terrorism in the region.
He noted that with three of the member states withdrawing, that has become a bit obsolete, so they need to sort of look at how the gaps can be filled.
The meeting would also discuss the general security situation in the region, terrorism, banditry, the transnational, organized crime, and also together with other agencies in the region to see how they can reposition in order to face those challenges as they move forward with the regional integration.
The meeting featured the presentation of equipment to support ICT in National Defence College
Shakirat Sadiq
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