President Bola Tinubu today, stressed the necessity for Africa to take a comprehensive approach to combating terrorism, not only through might, but by addressing the root causes of the scourge, including poverty, inequality, and social injustice.
Speaking at the African High-level Meeting on Counter-Terrorism in Abuja, President Tinubu called for the establishment of a regional counter-terrorism centre that will serve as a hub for intelligence sharing, operational coordination, and capacity building throughout Africa.
The President emphasised that while seeking to address the root causes of terrorism, Africa must also attack the roots that feed the evil branch, ransom and illegal mining – as terrorism evolves and perfects ways to continuously finance, re-equip, and re-supply itself for its sinister mission.
President Tinubu in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, was quoted as saying, “Not only does it kidnap people, it kidnaps precious resources. Billions upon billions of dollars that legitimate governments should be using to sculpt better societies by providing education, healthcare, and food for its people now go to pay for weapons and response to mayhem.
The President, however, added that the African region must strengthen existing counter-terrorism structures, such as the Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit (RIFU) in Abuja, the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) in Algiers, and the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA) in Addis Ababa.
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