The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, has joined other top security and defence leaders at the inaugural meeting of a committee set up to develop a comprehensive National Threat Assessment and a Rolling Five-Year National Strategic Defence and Security Operations Plan.
The meeting, held on August 26, 2026, followed a directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, to establish a coordinated framework for assessing Nigeria’s security environment and strengthening its preparedness to deal with emerging threats.
The high-level meeting was chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and attended by the Minister of Defence, the Minister of State for Defence, the National Security Adviser, the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs and heads of intelligence and security agencies.
The Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (Rtd), is serving as the coordinator of the committee and will provide the secretariat for its activities.
The initiative is expected to bring together the collective knowledge and experience of Nigeria’s defence, intelligence and security institutions to produce a comprehensive assessment of threats facing the country.
The Federal Government said the process was aimed at developing a more coordinated and forward-looking approach to national security, particularly as the nature of security challenges continues to change.
The committee is expected to examine the country’s current threat environment and develop a five-year operational framework that will guide strategic defence and security decisions.
According to the statement, the initiative “underscores the Federal Government’s commitment to a coordinated, proactive and forward-looking approach to national security, leveraging the collective expertise of Nigeria’s defence, intelligence and security institutions to strengthen strategic preparedness and enhance the nation’s capacity to effectively address evolving security challenges.”
The statement further explained that the committee would provide a platform for the various security institutions to work together in identifying threats, improving preparedness and strengthening the country’s overall response capabilities.
For the Nigerian Air Force, the participation of the Chief of the Air Staff is significant, particularly in ensuring that air power remains properly integrated into Nigeria’s broader national defence strategy.
Air Marshal Aneke’s involvement also reflects the service’s emphasis on joint operations and closer cooperation with other branches of the Armed Forces and security agencies.
The statement said, “Air Marshal Aneke’s participation further underscores the Nigerian Air Force’s commitment to jointness, inter-agency collaboration and the strategic employment of air power in support of Nigeria’s national defence and security objectives.”
The emphasis on jointness is expected to strengthen coordination between the Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy and other security institutions, especially in operations requiring intelligence sharing and coordinated deployment of resources.
The five-year strategic plan is also expected to provide a clearer direction for the country’s security agencies by linking threat assessment with long-term operational planning.
Rather than relying solely on short-term responses to security incidents, the initiative seeks to encourage security institutions to anticipate possible threats and prepare appropriate responses in advance.
The meeting therefore marks an important step in the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture through coordinated planning, intelligence-led decision-making and strategic cooperation.
With the participation of the country’s senior defence and security officials, the committee is expected to produce a framework that will help Nigeria respond more effectively to existing threats while preparing for challenges that may emerge in the years ahead.