By: Lamin B. Darboe
The 42nd Ordinary Meeting of the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDS) ended on Friday, August 9th in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria. The three-day meeting was organised against the backdrop of rising incidents of activities of Terrorist Armed Groups (TAGs) and Violent Extremist Groups (VEGs), Transnational Organised Crimes (TOCs), as well as cyber miss-information and disinformation that continued to undermine peace and security in the Region. Likewise, the Central Sahel has remained the epicenter of TAGs and VEGs while the littoral Member States are grappling with pressure from terrorists advancing towards the Atlantic. with the pressure of terrorists push towards the Atlantic.
The meeting deliberated on the general security situation in the ECOWAS Region particularly the growing menace of terrorism in the Region.
The Meeting considered and adopted the CONOPS of the ECOWAS Security Support Mission in Sierra Leone, updated on activation of the ECOWAS Standby Force to fight terrorism, updated on the development of the ECOWAS Logistics Depot, Rotation of Staff Officers of ECOWAS Peace Support Operations Division and ECOWAS Standby Force.
During the opening ceremony, the Minister of Defence, Mr. Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, called on the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff to strengthen their security cooperation to enhance their defence capabilities against any security threat. He encouraged open dialogue, shared expertise, and collaborative solutions to strengthen security cooperation and enhance regional defence capabilities.
The ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel-FatauMusah, said the second meeting was implemented as a result of the actual political development that occurred in the region. According to him, the convening of this ordinary session has therefore become important as it will allow them to review the evolving security environment with the view to repositioning the returned defense architecture.
The Chief of Defence Staff of Nigeria, General Christopher Musa, Chairman of the occasion, has affirmed the Armed Forces’ unwavering commitment to ensuring security and upholding democratic governance in the West African region. According to him “the security challenges in the nations and regions posed a threat which includes terrorism, organised crime, violent and recently unconfirmed over government.”
Further, Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Yusuf Tuga said “the meeting is a further testament of their collective commitment to security and stability of the region.
