President Bola Tinubu has directed Nigeria’s top security, intelligence, and defence leadership to produce a comprehensive national threat assessment and a five-year strategic defence operations plan within ninety days to overhaul the country’s national security strategy.
The mandate was announced on Wednesday during the inauguration of the Presidential Committee on National Threat Assessment and Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan, led on the President’s behalf by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
Comprising the National Security Adviser, defense ministers, service chiefs, and heads of major intelligence and security agencies, the committee aims to transition Nigeria’s defense framework from reactive measures to a proactive model that anticipates threats, prioritizes risks, and aligns state resources with national security goals.
The SGF emphasized that the deliverables must be submitted within 90 days for President Tinubu’s review and approval, calling on committee members to approach the assignment with urgency, objectivity, professionalism, and patriotism.
He explained that the initiative was driven by the increasing complexity and interconnected nature of modern security threats, which frequently exploit operational, institutional, and jurisdictional vulnerabilities.
While acknowledging recent achievements by the Armed Forces and security agencies, the SGF stressed that Nigeria can no longer rely on a strategy focused primarily on reacting to security crises as they unfold.
Additionally, he stated that the country requires a forward-looking framework designed to anticipate emerging risks, prioritize threats, allocate limited resources effectively, sustain operational momentum, and deliver measurable security outcomes.
He stated that a common national knowledge of the security environment and a cogent short-, medium-, and long-term strategy must serve as the foundation for operational responses by defence, intelligence, and security officials.
National threat assessment framework
Under the new framework, the National Threat Assessment will provide an objective evaluation of Nigeria’s security landscape by identifying current and emerging threats, assessing their strategic implications, tracking their evolution, and determining appropriate state responses.
The assessment is also designed to help security agencies distinguish between immediate threats requiring urgent intervention and long-term risks that demand early investment in capabilities such as intelligence, technology, infrastructure, and training.
Building on these insights, the Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan will translate the threat assessment into actionable operational requirements, detailing the deployment of personnel, equipment, intelligence assets, infrastructure, logistics, and technology across multiple operational theaters.
However, he said the plan would operate on a rolling basis and be reviewed annually to reflect emerging threats, changing operational realities, technological developments and lessons from ongoing operations.
Read Also: How Insecurity Has Become a Political Game in Nigeria
