ABUJA/Nigeria: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the immediate preparation of a comprehensive National Threat Assessment and a rolling five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan as part of efforts to improve coordination among Nigeria’s defence, intelligence and security agencies.
The directive was disclosed in a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on August 19, 2026, following the President’s directive at Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House, Abuja.
Tinubu also constituted an 11-member committee to prepare the strategic defence operations plan, with his Special Adviser on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka A. Famadewa, designated to coordinate the committee and provide secretariat support.
Other members are the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa; Minister of State for Defence, Alhaji Bello Muhammad Matawalle; Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas.
The committee also includes the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi, and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Muhammed Muhammed.
Tinubu said the initiative was necessary to establish a common national framework for understanding and responding to the security threats confronting the country.
According to him, the framework would define the major threats facing Nigeria, their relative urgency, the operational objectives required to address them and the capabilities needed to achieve those objectives.
The President cited recent security operations, including the rescue of pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, as evidence of what could be achieved when security and intelligence agencies operate with a common objective and adequate intelligence.
“The operation demonstrated what can be achieved when our agencies work together with a clear objective and the necessary intelligence,” Tinubu said.
He noted that security agencies had often considered operational requirements separately, without sufficient reference to a common national threat assessment or a unified medium-term operational plan.
According to him, the absence of such a framework could make coordination more difficult and affect the efficient deployment of security resources.
The National Threat Assessment is expected to identify the principal threats facing Nigeria, rank them according to urgency and establish operational objectives for addressing them.
The Strategic Defence Operations Plan will then translate the assessment into specific operational priorities, including the forces and capabilities required in different theatres, existing capability gaps, equipment and support requirements and an implementation timetable.
The committee has also been authorised to consult or co-opt representatives of other ministries, departments and agencies where their participation is considered necessary.
Tinubu directed the committee to commence work immediately and submit the completed National Threat Assessment and Strategic Defence Operations Plan to him within 90 days for consideration and approval.
Once approved, the plan is expected to become the principal framework for coordinating military and defence operations over the medium term.
It will also form the basis for a corresponding multi-year defence expenditure and procurement plan, with the aim of aligning government resources with identified operational priorities and critical national security needs.
The President further directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the National Security Adviser to take the necessary steps to implement the directive immediately.
