NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
Communities’ involvement key to countering terrorism threats – Centre

Communities’ involvement key to countering terrorism threats – Centre

142 total views today

By Monday Ijeh

The National Coordinator, National Counter Terrorism Centre – Office of the National Security Adviser (NCTC-ONSA), Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka says active involvement of communities and other stakeholders is key to countering terrorism threats.

Laka said this at the opening of the National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST) stakeholders meeting on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said the meeting was at a pivotal juncture in the review of NACTEST as the terrorism threat landscape continues to evolve in complexity and scale.

The coordinator said the responses to the threats must also be adaptive, collaborative, and forward-looking.

Laka added that the approach had been anchored on two fundamental pillars, the whole-of-government and the whole-of-society approach.

According to him, the whole-of-government approach underscores the need for seamless interagency coordination.

“In the context of the recent crisis, the Ministry of Education has done an excellent job in providing a comprehensive and effective approach to counter-terrorism.

“It is only through this unity that we can effectively identify vulnerabilities, disrupt terrorist networks and prevent attacks before they occur.

“Terrorism is not just a security threat, but also, a social and ideological one.

“Therefore, countering it requires the active involvement of communities, civil society organisations, religious and traditional leaders, and the private sector,” he said.

He said the idea was to build trust, strengthen social cohesion, and actively counter extremist narratives at the grassroots.

Laka said the initial draft of the revised NACTEST had been successfully developed.

He urged the participants to carefully review the draft strategy, provide constructive feedback, and take responsibility for implementing the recommendations that fall within their mandate.

The coordinator said the goal was to ensure that the implementation of the strategy serves as a practical and dynamic framework that drives real and measurable impacts in counterterrorism efforts.

In his remarks, Commodore Ahmad Madawaki, Director of Policy and Strategy at the NCTC-ONSA, stated that NACTEST had provided a critical framework for counter-terrorism since its introduction in 2014.

“As the threat landscape evolved, it became clear that a review was necessary to ensure that our strategy remained effective and relevant.

“To support this review, we engaged in extensive consultations with various stakeholders, including our international partners.

“We had the privilege of collaborating with renowned international partners to leverage their expertise and best practices,” he said.

According to him, these interactions enriched our understanding of emerging trends and innovative approaches to countering terrorism. (NAN)

Edited by Joseph Edeh

FG inaugurates D-8 SME centre to deepen global cooperation, job creation

FG inaugurates D-8 SME centre to deepen global cooperation, job creation

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By Lucy Ogalue

The Federal Government has called for stronger collaboration among developing countries to unlock job creation and ensure global competitiveness through enterprise development.

Mr Charlse Odii, Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), said this at the inauguration of the D-8 Centre for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Abuja on Tuesday.

Odii described the inauguration as a historic milestone that reflected Nigeria’s growing leadership in promoting South-South cooperation through entrepreneurship and innovation.

He said that the decision to site the centre in Nigeria was a strong endorsement of the resilience and creativity that defined the Nigerian business environment.

“The D-8 SME Center is more than a building. It is a bridge between continents, between policies and real impact, between big ideas and the small businesses that bring them to life.

“The initiative aligns with the vision of President Bola Tinubu, whose renewed hope agenda places enterprise, youth empowerment and regional partnerships at the core of Nigeria’s economic and diplomatic priorities,”he said.

According to him, Nigeria’s SME ecosystem is central to job creation, poverty reduction, and sustainable development.

He said that there was the need for stronger regional integration to tackle common challenges such as access to finance, infrastructure and regulatory barriers.

“No country can do it alone. SMEs in Bangladesh, Egypt, Malaysia, and Nigeria face similar constraints.

“The D-8 SME Center provides a platform to share solutions, open markets and harmonise standards,” he said.

Odii said that SMEDAN’s “Grow Nigerian” strategy was geared toward helping local businesses move beyond survival to becoming competitive players in regional and global value chains.

He said that the agency was focused on digitising SME operations, building industrial linkages, improving business regulations, and enhancing youth participation in the economy.

“This Centre will be a living hub for matchmaking, learning exchanges, policy alignment and co-investment among D-8 countries. It is about turning shared ideas into shared prosperity,” he said.

The Secretary-General of the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation, Ambassador Isiaka Imam, urged member countries to intensify efforts toward empowering SMEs.

Imam said that SMEs formed the backbone of D-8 economies, accounting for the majority of enterprises and contributing significantly to GDP and employment across member states.

Citing country-specific data, he said that SMEs represented 99.8 per cent of businesses in Türkiye, 96 per cent in Nigeria, 98 per cent in Egypt, and over 90 per cent in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran.

He said that the D-8 had taken strategic steps to support SME growth, including the establishment of governmental meetings, signing of a cooperation MoU, and hosting of forums among others.8

Imam expressed hope that the new centre would work with national SME agencies to advance research, training, data sharing, and policy harmonisation.

He urged member states to support the centre in addressing challenges such as access to finance, markets and technology.

The inauguration was attended by government officials, representatives of the D-8 Secretariat, diplomatic community, private sector players and development partners.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the representatives of the member states acknowledged the important role SMEs played in the economic development of their various countries.

They, therefore, pledged their collective commitment to the advancement of the D-8 centre to ensure that it realised its purpose.(NAN)

Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman

Centre advocates spontaneous reportage of military, security operations

Centre advocates spontaneous reportage of military, security operations

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By Sumaila Ogbaje/Martha Agas

The Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC), a non-governmental organisation has called on the military and security agencies to be spontaneous in releasing information on their operations to ensure that citizens are carried along.

The Chairman of CCC, retired Maj.-Gen. Christopher Olukolade, made the call at a news conference organised by the centre on Tuesday in Abuja.

The theme of the News conference is, “Setting Agenda for Nigerian Security Forces in 2025”.

Olukolade said there was a need to review the current communication strategies to carry the public along and ensure that Nigerians understand and appreciate what the agencies are doing to ensure security.

He urged military and security agencies to allow professionals to run their information management.

“We want to advocate, for instance, that in terms of their strategy that these agencies, particularly the armed forces, should discard this tendency of biweekly reporting.

“We are advocating a more spontaneous reportage on the achievements and activities related to the nation’s security.

“A practice where we have a biweekly briefing by one agency or organisation, or even collectively, may not be able to carry the public along sufficiently.

“This approach often leads to information overload, and it makes it difficult for the public to fully comprehend and appreciate the efforts of the agencies.

“So instead of that, we are recommending that they adopt a more responsive communication strategy that provides regular updates, if possible, on a real-time situation or as much as possible.

“This will ensure that the public can be properly and well carried along and ensure that they will no longer be in doubt of both the achievement and the essence of security operations all over the country,” he said.

Olukolade, a former defence Spokesman, said the public would appreciate the work of the security agencies more, if they apply more of operational precision.

He added that the security agencies would need to invest more on training, intelligence gathering and equipment handling to be able to achieve precision.

He lauded the military, other security and intelligence agencies for the recent improvement, urging them to continue to build on their successes in ensuring enhanced security for the nation.

The CCC boss also called for the establishment of clear protocols for identifying and engaging targets, as well as procedures for mitigating civilian casualties during operations.

He added that community collaboration with security agencies should be encouraged to ensure that their efforts were not only appreciated, but contribute to the nation’s security.

“We are already working closely with many of them and the local communities, and the security forces can gain more value and insight into a security situation if they are more disposed to carrying the public along.

“So, the Nigerian security forces should foster stronger relationships with, particularly, the local leaders in areas where they operate.

“Then the issue of interagency collaboration should be consolidated and be made more robust.

“It is interesting that there are less and less clashes among the agencies. We believe and we wish that in the years ahead, such will be upheld, and clashes among agencies will be a thing of the past.

“So, the agencies can continue to share intelligence, they can continue to collaborate, and they reduce the level of duplication that leads to the rivalry that tends to affect operations and possibly cause some crisis, both in terms of the conduct of their mission or in terms of communicating their achievements,” he added.

Olukolade also urged the Nigerian security force to leverage on cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and all other innovations and development in technology to enhance intelligence gathering.

He added that security forces should continue to build on and improve on what they had, both in terms of logistics base and content, as well as training of personnel.

He said that the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) had made impressive progress in defence production. (NAN)

Edited by Christiana Fadare

NNPCL unveils production monitoring centre 

NNPCL unveils production monitoring centre 

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By Emmanuella Anokam
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), has introduced the Production Monitoring Command Centre (PMCC) as a transformative step in hydrocarbon operations to boost production.
The initiative, driven by NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), builds on the success of the Command and Control Centre to enhance monitoring, operational efficiency, and production.
The Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd., Olufemi Soneye, in a statement on Wednesday said the PMCC aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s policy to increase efficiency and boost production in the industry.
“The PMCC serves as a unified platform for monitoring hydrocarbon molecules from production to export terminals, covering Joint Ventures (JVs) and Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs).
“By consolidating real-time data from various operators, the PMCC provides a comprehensive overview of production activities. This ensures timely identification of anomalies, minimises unplanned disruptions, and supports seamless operational continuity.
“With advanced analytics and integrated data, the PMCC empowers stakeholders with actionable insights for proactive decision-making.
“This capability enhances planning, resource allocation, and risk management, enabling operators to meet production targets efficiently and maintain high operational standards.
“A standout feature of the PMCC is its support for predictive and preventive maintenance. By monitoring equipment performance and coordinating maintenance activities, the system ensures the reliability and longevity of assets,” he said.
He added that the PMCC promotes collaboration among stakeholders by providing a secure platform for data sharing and communication, fostering effective problem-solving and continuous improvement across the sector.
He said the PMCC’s role in minimising downtime and optimising maintenance directly contributed to increased production and revenue.
“Under Mele Kyari’s leadership, NNPC Ltd. has achieved a production increase to 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) and is working towards a target of two million bpd.
“The PMCC is integral to achieving this goal by driving efficiency and enhancing production capabilities.
“The PMCC operates 24/7, staffed by trained professionals, and utilises cloud-based solutions to ensure seamless data exchange with internal and external stakeholders.
” With direct communication links to the Industry-Wide Security Command and Control Centre, the PMCC also enhances the security of production operations,” he said.
As NNPC Ltd continues its modernisation journey, the PMCC reflects its commitment to innovation and excellence in the oil and gas sector.
This initiative not only aligns with national goals but also strengthens Nigeria’s position in the global energy market, ensuring long-term growth and profitability for stakeholders.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz
Police, Centre  collaborate to tackle juvenile crimes nationwide

Police, Centre  collaborate to tackle juvenile crimes nationwide

447 total views today

By Monday Ijeh

The Nigeria Police Force in collaboration with an NGO, Centre for Family Peace, have concluded plans to tackle  the increasing rate of crimes among juveniles in the country.

The Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Olukayode Egbetokun  said this at the inauguration of the Steering Committee on the Implementation and Execution of the Annual I-G Conference on Juvenile Crime Prevention and Control Project , on Friday in Abuja.H

He said the theme for the maiden edition of the conference is ‘Effective Family Relationship Strategies for Juvenile Crime Prevention and Control.’

Egbetokun, represented by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Mr Mohammed Dankwara commended the centre for the initiative.

The I-G said the Nigeria Police was aware of the devastating effect of crimes and offences, perpetrated by young people, teenagers, juveniles or adolescents on communities across the country.

Egbetokun  acknowledged the urgent need for a comprehensive approach, as well as concerted efforts and commitments to address the root causes of behavioural problems among young people.

According to him, it was on this note that the Nigeria Police approved the partnership with the centre  to join forces in tackling the ugly trend among young people.

“There is a consensus among family and child development experts that the cause of juvenile offences is the family. Hence, the solution to the problem can be found in the family too.

`This official inauguration of the conference signals the commencement of the implementation of this novel project, aimed at preventing juvenile crime and promoting positive development of young people in Nigeria.

“To deliver this conference project, there will be need for collaboration with the different extra-familial institutions like government at all levels and their agencies, the church, the school and the media,” he said.

He urged members of the steering committee to take the assignment very seriously to deliver positive outcomes that would arrest the ugly trend of juvenile crime.

In his remark, Mr Chinedum Ikogwe,  Executive Director and Founder of the NGO, said the project was borne out of the need to address the challenges of crime and criminality among juveniles.

He said the project was designed to be taken to all the states of the federation, where the governors are  expected to host it in their various states.

Ikogwe blamed the ugly trend among juveniles on failure of parents to live up to their responsibilities by engaging in the pursuit of material things and abandoning the home.

According to him, juvenile crime is a family based problem that requires family based solution because it has to do with character deficiency of children.

He said the choice of the Nigeria Police for the partnership followed the fact that the police is the foremost law enforcement agency in the country.

Ikogwe  commended the I-G for the speedy approval of the project.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Joseph Edeh

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