By Chinasaokwu Helen Okoro
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has unveiled plans to establish a 260,000-strong rapid deployment counter-terrorism force, with an annual funding target of $2.5 billion. This initiative was announced at the 2025 African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit in Abuja, themed “Combating Contemporary Threats to Regional Peace and Security in Africa: The Role of Strategic Defence Collaboration.”
ECOWAS Commission President, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, represented by Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, said the force is a response to the escalating terrorism crisis in the Sahel, which accounted for 51% of global terrorism-related deaths in 2024.
Touray stated that the funds will support the force’s activation, logistics, and aid for frontline states. He emphasized the need for a coordinated African response to the region’s deteriorating security, citing the asymmetric threats now facing the continent.
“West Africa, particularly the Sahel, has become the global epicentre of terrorism,” he said. “This bold step requires significant resources, and ECOWAS will convene a meeting of Finance and Defence Ministers this Friday in Abuja to finalise funding modalities.”
Touray also called on international partners to support the initiative and urged the United Nations to fulfil its 2023 pledge under Security Council Resolution 2719 to fund 75% of African-led peace operations.
Beyond counter-terrorism, ECOWAS is advancing its maritime security strategy with regional centres and a central hub in Abuja, while also targeting transnational organised crime.
Also speaking at the summit, Nigeria’s former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, revealed that Africa now faces threats from over 1,000 insurgent groups. He stressed the need for self-reliance in defence capabilities and urged African nations to develop indigenous security architectures, technologies, and industries.
“Regional bodies must move beyond dependency and build their own systems for collective security,” he said.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, echoed similar concerns. He described Africa as being at a tipping point—full of potential but threatened by terrorism, organised crime, piracy, and climate-driven conflict.
“These threats are transnational and evolving,” Musa said. “Our response must be equally strategic, united, and modern.”
Musa called for greater military cooperation, intelligence sharing, and joint training, while urging investment in cyber defence, artificial intelligence, and indigenous military technology.
“The enemy is not always outside. The enemy is within,” he said. “We must rise above division, embrace unity, and build a continent free from fear.”
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