National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu has called for effective mechanisms to enhance ECOWAS countries’ ability to prevent and counter terrorist Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by terrorist groups.
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He said terrorism knows no bounds, stressing that collaborative efforts by key stakeholders are crucial to confronting and defeating the menace.
Ribadu said this on Tuesday at the opening of the Stakeholders meeting on Consolidating Collaborative Efforts to Prevent and Counter the Acquisition and Use of IED by Terrorist Groups in West Africa, on Tuesday in Abuja.
Represented by Mohammed Sanusi, Permanent Secretary, Special Services, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the NSA said the regional meeting serves as a platform for all members to share knowledge, best practices, and experiences in addressing the threats of IEDs.
He said: “We aim to develop effective mechanisms to enhance our ability to prevent and counter the use of IEDS.
“The recommendations that will emerge from this meeting are vital in sharing and shaping our strategies and initiating efforts to safeguard our communities from IED.”
While commending the partners for their dedication in strengthening their collective efforts in combating terrorism, Ribadu encouraged participants to actively engage in discussion, get ideas, and work towards solutions that would help them on how counterterrorism could affect communities in the West African region
Earlier, Algerian Ambassador to Nigeria, Hocine Mezoued, emphasised that African countries must take adequate measures to make the fight against terrorism effective.
He said the measures should not involve the prevention and dismantling of IEDS, but proactive and preventive actions that will deconstruct them and promote coordination, cooperation, and adaptation to new threats.
He said, “It is also worth recalling, on a broader point, the debate at the United Nations Security Council on the fight against terrorism in Africa.
“It served as an opportunity to raise awareness of the alarming rise of terrorism in Africa and to reaffirm the urgent need to live it in the global interest and to revive international momentum to address this crisis that now threatens security and development in our continent at this time.
“The efforts of our group to strengthen West African capacities take into account local and regional realities and require the reaffirmed commitment of the international community and its determination to combat the use of improvised explosive devices.”
German Ambassador to Nigeria, Annette Gunther, represented by the Head of Political Division, Mathias Dold, said the global trend of weaponising commercial drones tended to jeopardise much of the impressive progress that many countries had made in bringing back stability.
He commended the Government of Nigeria for hosting the event, adding that the German Government and the European Union had continued to support numerous activities that contribute to non-kinetic efforts to prevent and combat violent extremism, such as the integrated border stability mechanisms for West Africa
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