Nigeria Opens Security Strategy Review Covering Terrorism, Kidnapping and Cyber Threats

The Office of the National Security Adviser has inaugurated a 33-member committee to review Nigeria’s National Security Strategy 2019, according to Premium Times reporting published on Thursday, 29 October. The exercise is intended to produce a framework that reflects security conditions that have changed since the existing strategy was adopted.

Retired Major General Sarkin Bello chairs the committee, with retired Major General Emeka Onumajuru serving as deputy. The report says the final draft of the proposed National Security Strategy 2026 must reach the National Security Adviser by 27 November.

The announced areas of focus include terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cybercrime and misinformation. Bringing these threats into one review is significant because the exercise concerns both physical security and the information and digital environment in which security institutions operate.

National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu’s message, delivered through his representative, called for a practical strategy suited to the country’s present challenges. The committee was promised administrative, technical and logistical support for its work, according to the report.

The inauguration starts a policy-development process; it does not mean a new strategy is already approved or in force. The reviewed reporting does not set out new policing powers, a public consultation calendar, implementation funding or detailed measures for protecting lawful expression when tackling misinformation.

The next test will be the content of the draft and the mechanisms proposed to turn it into action. A credible update will need clear responsibilities and implementable measures; those details cannot be assumed from the announcement alone.

Source checked on 30 October 2026: Premium Times, 29 October — https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/921333-nigeria-reviews-national-security-strategy-to-address-terrorism-cyber-threats-misinformation.html

Image: AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of this event.