The Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka T. Famadewa (Rtd), has unveiled a fresh strategy aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture, with plans to deploy a unified surveillance system, tighten identity management, reinforce border security and establish a more effective early warning and crisis response mechanism.
The blueprint was unveiled on Friday at the maiden Homeland Security Stakeholders’ Meeting held at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation in Abuja, where heads and representatives of key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), alongside security stakeholders, gathered to chart a coordinated approach to tackling the country’s growing security challenges.
Speaking at the meeting, Famadewa said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains committed to building “a secure, resilient and technology-driven homeland security ecosystem” capable of addressing both existing and emerging threats across the country.
According to him, achieving that goal will require sustained collaboration among security agencies, intelligence sharing and coordinated action across all relevant institutions.
The meeting also served as an opportunity to outline the mandate and strategic priorities of the Office of the Special Adviser on Homeland Security.
Among the major initiatives discussed was the implementation of a Unified Surveillance Programme to improve nationwide situational awareness, strengthen identity management to curb the misuse of anonymous platforms for criminal activities, enhance border security through technology-driven and intelligence-led operations, and establish more effective early warning, crisis reporting and rapid response mechanisms.
Famadewa stressed that his office was created to complement—not replace—the efforts of existing security institutions.
“Our mandate is to complement, not replace, the existing security architecture,” he said while commending the Armed Forces and other security agencies for their sacrifices in restoring peace across the country.
He also stressed the importance of adopting non-kinetic approaches to security by building societal resilience alongside conventional security operations.
Stakeholders at the meeting engaged in extensive discussions on practical implementation strategies, reaffirming their commitment to greater inter-agency collaboration and information sharing.
They agreed that Nigeria’s evolving security threats require a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach anchored on technology, institutional coordination, intelligence sharing and innovation.
The meeting ended with participants resolving to establish sustainable coordination mechanisms, hold regular stakeholder engagements and develop actionable frameworks to translate the agreed priorities into measurable outcomes for national security and public safety.
Among those in attendance were the Permanent Secretary, Special Services Office; the Comptroller-General of Customs; the Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service; the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU); the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC); the Director-General of the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE); as well as representatives of the Armed Forces, security and intelligence agencies, relevant ministries, regulatory bodies and other critical stakeholders.
