Centre Expresses Confidence In President Tinubu’s National Defence Plan Committee ...Says Accelerated Funding For Defence Key To Homeland Security

The Centre for Justice and Human Rights in Africa (CJHA) has expressed strong confidence in the high-level committee constituted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to prepare a comprehensive National Threat Assessment and a rolling five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan.

The group described the initiative as a timely and strategic step toward strengthening coordination across Nigeria’s defence, intelligence and security agencies.

In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Dr. Ifure Ifure, the Centre noted that the 90-day timeline given to the committee reflects the urgency of addressing evolving security threats and establishing a coherent national framework for operational priorities.

“We welcome President Tinubu’s directive and place full confidence in the expertise and patriotism of the distinguished members of this committee,” Dr. Ifure stated.

“The inclusion of the National Security Adviser, the Minister of Defence, the service chiefs and the heads of key intelligence agencies ensures that the process will be thorough, professional and grounded in operational realities.

“A clear National Threat Assessment and a well-structured five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan will provide the common understanding and prioritisation that our security architecture has long needed.

"This is the kind of institutional clarity required for effective homeland security.”

The Centre observed that the committee, coordinated by the Special Adviser on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa, has been tasked with identifying principal threats, ranking their urgency, defining operational objectives, and translating these into concrete force requirements, capability gaps and implementation timelines.

Once approved, the plan is expected to guide multi-year defence spending and procurement.

According to the group, Famadewa's professionalism, strategic insight and quiet competence is critical in this national assignment, adding that his deep operational experience and commitment will also strengthen the country’s security architecture.

CJHA stressed that the success of the framework will depend significantly on sustained and accelerated funding for the defence and security sector.

“Accelerated and predictable funding for defence remains the single most critical enabler of homeland security,” Dr. Ifure said.

“Equipment modernisation, intelligence capabilities, personnel welfare and joint operations all require consistent budgetary support if the new doctrine is to deliver results on the ground.

“We therefore urge the National Assembly and relevant agencies to align fiscal priorities with the operational needs that will emerge from this five-year plan.

"Security spending must not only be adequate but also results-oriented and transparently applied.”

The Centre further noted that President Tinubu’s administration has already demonstrated commitment by making defence and security the largest sectoral allocation in recent budgets, including the 2026 Appropriation.

It said the new planning process offers an opportunity to ensure that these resources are directed according to clear national priorities rather than fragmented agency requests.

CJHA linked the committee’s work to the broader reset of Nigeria’s security architecture, including the new counter-terrorism doctrine that treats all armed non-state actors and their enablers as terrorists.

“This defence plan committee represents a serious institutional effort to move from reactive responses to a proactive, intelligence-driven and coordinated strategy,” the statement continued.

“We are confident that its recommendations, when implemented with the necessary funding and political will, will strengthen the capacity of the Armed Forces and other security agencies to protect lives and territory.”

The Centre for Justice and Human Rights in Africa called on all stakeholders — military leadership, civilian authorities, the legislature and the Nigerian public — to support the work of the committee and the subsequent implementation of its recommendations.

It described the exercise as a patriotic national assignment whose success will benefit every Nigerian.