Ribadu Inaugurates 33 Members Committee To Develop Nigeria’s 2026 Security Strategy

The National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, on Thursday, 29 October 2026, inaugurated a 33-member committee to review Nigeria’s 2019 National Security Strategy and develop a new framework for addressing emerging security threats.

Ribadu, represented by Major General Sarkin Bello (retd.), charged the committee members to produce a comprehensive, realistic, and actionable document that reflects the country’s changing security environment.

He said Nigeria’s domestic, regional and global security landscape had changed significantly since the last review in 2019, necessitating a reassessment of the country’s security priorities.

“Our national security landscape is undergoing rapid and profound transformations. Since the last review of our strategy in 2019, the domestic, regional and global security environments have changed dramatically, with intensity,” he said.

The NSA identified terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cyber threats, misinformation, economic challenges, food insecurity and environmental problems as some of the threats the new strategy must address.

He said the National Security Strategy 2026 would provide an overarching framework for coordinating national security, resilience and sustainable development.

“The National Security Strategy 2026 will serve as an overarching compass for coordinating national security, resilience and sustainable development for Nigeria. It must reflect our current realities, anticipate future disruptions and directly support the realisation of our national objectives amid the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in the areas of human security, economic transformation and national cohesion,” Ribadu said.

He urged the committee members to work with relevant institutions and stakeholders to develop an effective strategy.

“Engage robustly with our resource institutions and strategic stakeholders to produce a comprehensive, realistic and actionable document. Nigeria demands a strategy that is realistic and implementable,” he said.

Ribadu said the Office of the National Security Adviser would provide the necessary administrative, technical and logistical support to ensure the successful completion of the assignment.

In his acceptance remarks, the Deputy Chairman of the committee, Major General Evi Onumajuru (retd.), said the changing nature of security threats required a comprehensive strategic realignment.

He noted that conventional security challenges, including terrorism, insurgency and banditry, had become intertwined with non-kinetic threats such as cyber vulnerabilities, economic challenges, food insecurity and climate change.

“To address these complexities, our nation requires an overarching framework that moves beyond reactive measures. The National Security Strategy 2026 must be an inclusive, forward-looking and highly actionable blueprint,” Onumajuru said.

He added that the committee would consult resource institutions, private sector representatives and traditional leaders to ensure that the strategy reflected a broad range of national security concerns.

Onumajuru said the committee had four weeks to submit its final draft to the NSA, describing the timeline as demanding.

“Our timeline is quite unyielding. We have exactly four weeks from today to submit our final draft copies to the National Security Adviser. So, it demands immediate, focused momentum,” he said.

The committee is chaired by Major General Bello (retd.) and comprises representatives of government ministries, the Armed Forces, intelligence agencies, law enforcement bodies, civil society organisations and academia.

Other institutions represented include the Defence Headquarters, the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, the National Intelligence Agency, the Defence Intelligence Agency and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.