ECOWAS Activates Standby Force To Fight Terrorism, Trans-border Crimes

The Economic Community of Africa State (ECOWAS) has activated its Standby Force to fight terrorism and other transborder criminal activities in the subregion.

Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru announced this during the 43rd edition of the ordinary meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of the Chiefs of Defence, in Abuja on Tuesday.

LEADERSHIP reports that the meeting was attended by Chiefs of Defence Staff of ECOWAS countries, except Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger which had withdrawn from the subregional body.

Badaru said the meeting underscores member nations’ shared commitments in addressing the critical security challenges confronting the sub-region.

He said, “My charge this morning to you all is for you to take advantage of this gathering and mobilise against those threats and focus with a view to deny terror.

“Central to the discussion in the coming days as regards pressing issues concerning the ECOWAS standby force, ECOWAS peace support operation as well as maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, I am confident that our deliberation will be matched by spirit of collaboration, innovation and determination as we work towards drafting a comprehensive strategy to address the security challenges in the subregion.”

According to the Defence Minister, by leveraging their collective expertise, resources and commitment, ECOWAS members can make tangible impact on fostering peace, stability and prosperity.

“In this regard, I am pleased to announce the activation of the ECOWAS Standby Force to combat terrorism in the sub-region,” Badaru said.

“The activation of this force underscores our collective determination to confront the stretch of terrorism with regards to the security of the sub-region with regards to the security and to ensure the safety and security of our citizens.

He urged the participants to approach the deliberation with a sense of purpose, unity and resolve, “knowing that we have also the power to ensure a more secure and prosperous future for our sub-region.”

The ECOWAS Commissioner, Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Dr. Abdel-Fatau Musah, said despite the recent withdrawal of three African countries from the regional body, the ECOWAS maintain free movement of persons and goods.

He also urged the gathering to critically examine the implications of their withdrawal on regional security in the course of their deliberations.

“As you are aware, on 29 January 2025, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger formally withdrew their memberships from ECOWAS. Following the directives of the Authority of Heads of State and Government at the last Summit in December 2024, the ECOWAS Commission has now initiated a contingency plan to mitigate the unforeseen consequences of their withdrawal. Therefore, I call on you to critically examine the implications of their withdrawal on regional security in the course of your deliberations.

“I so wish to stress that ECOWAS still has its doors open to welcome back our brothers and sisters from the countries that recently withdrew from our community.

“In this regards, ECOWAS committee of heads of state has directed that despite the withdrawal, ECOWAS must maintain the free movement of people and goods and the rights of settlement and establishment to all citizens of our community, including those from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in the spirit of where ECOWAS is going, that is, building a community and a united force of people and we do not want the ordinary citizens of our member states to suffer.”

Musah said the pledges made by the member states were being reconfigured in compliance with the directive to activate the Standby Force in the kinetic mode”.

In his welcome remarks, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa said the meeting demonstrates a collective drive towards addressing various security threats that afflict the region.

Musa said military leaders were aware that without a secure and conducive environment, economic growth and development will continue to elude the region.

He therefore called on the Armed Forces to support the political leadership by entrenching conducive and secure environment for economic development to thrive.

That, he said, was in recognition that the current threats are not only complex and adaptive, but they pervade and in some cases, traverse countries in the subregion.

He therefore, commended the foresight of past leaders for setting up the platform to leverage for collective action against common threats.

He stressed that “the complexity of the security landscape demands that we leverage our collective expertise, intelligence assets and coordinate our efforts across borders if we must solve these challenges as the world has become a global village and the gap between us shrinking even more. Thus, collaboration is paramount and imperative to address both the root causes and symptoms of insecurity in our region,”.

General Musa explained that it was on the above that the agenda for the meeting was carefully crafted to focus on critical areas while building from previous engagements.

“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,” General Musa said.

He said the meeting will also present and review the report of last Chiefs of Naval Staff Meeting and a presentation on Standardisation of the Table of Equipment for the ECOWAS Standby Force.

Other top security chiefs at the meeting include the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar; Chief of Defence Intelligence, Emmanuel Undiandeye; the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and members of the diplomatic community.