Tinubu seeks global cooperation to tackle emerging security threats

Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, has called for stronger national and international cooperation to address emerging security threats confronting Nigeria and the wider world.

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Mr Tinubu made the call in Abuja at the ongoing two-day international conference on security, organised by Jama’atu Izalatil Bidiah wa Iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS Nigeria) in partnership with the Muslim World League, Saudi Arabia.

The President, who was represented by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, said the country was facing “multifaceted” security challenges requiring coordinated and sustainable responses.

According to him, the conference was particularly important given the current security situation and the need for authorities and faith leaders to deliberate on emerging threats to national and digital security systems.

The president said his administration remained committed to ensuring a stable and secure Nigeria while working with other countries and international organisations to promote global security.

“Working within the Committee of Nations, [my government is] collaborating every day to ensure that security remains not only in our country but in the entire globe,” he said.

According to him, the conference was expected to examine emerging trends putting pressure on Nigeria’s national and digital security systems and chart a way forward that would complement the government’s efforts to address the country’s security challenges.

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He also called for the preservation of Nigeria’s unity despite differences among its citizens, urging Nigerians to work together to ensure that the country remains united.

Mr Tinubu said participants at the conference would also have an opportunity to exchange experiences and engage in discussions on viable and sustainable options for addressing security challenges.

He commended the Muslim World League for choosing Nigeria as the venue for the conference, describing the decision as significant and assuring that the President was pleased with the event.

He expressed confidence that the deliberations would produce critical and practical outcomes capable of contributing to the government’s security objectives.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that the conference comes at a time when religious and ethnic narratives are being exploited by extremists groups in Nigeria and the Sahel region where military juntas are wrestling with rebels and jihadists.

In Nigeria, the security situation continues to deteriorate under President Tinubu with insurgency now spreading to the south where schoolchildren were abducted and their teacher killed by Boko Haram terrorists in May.

READ ALSO: Security forces rescue 16 kidnap victims in Kogi State

Although the government is recording successes at the frontlines, terrorists continue to regroup and increasingly entrench their influence in rural communities where governance is barely present. These ungoverned communities remain key in recruitment drives for terror groups blending religious beliefs with criminality.

Also present at the conference were Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, the national leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, and the Minister of State for Health, Ali Pate.

Others are the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad; the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), Cornelius Omonokhua; the Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, and his Borno State counterpart, Babagaba Zulum, among others.