The Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonishakin has called for collaboration and intelligence gathering among members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the war against terrorism.
He made the call on Wednesday at the 39th Ordinary Meeting of ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff at the regional body’s parliament in Abuja.
“The growing trend of local terrorist organisations affiliating with and receiving support from well known international terrorist organisations has also become very worrisome.
“In this regard, we need to intensify intelligence gathering, joint and combined operations to combat this menace,” he said.
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The defence chief believes that tackling insecurity in Africa will require a new approach which will include not just land but maritime security.
Similarly, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Nuratu Batagarawa, said the Naval chiefs in attendance at the meeting would also strengthen the fight against maritime crimes.
“Attention will also be paid to security issues in the maritime domain. Accordingly, the Chief of Naval Staffs are attending and expected to make contributions on issues of maritime security and safety, fight against terrorism and status of small arms stockpile management in the region amongst other issues,” he stated.
The meeting is to assess the commitment of member countries to the resolutions of the 38th meeting and proffer solutions to collective regional security problems.
