The Defence heads of countries in the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS) on 27 June 2024, combined in Abuja to deliberate on the submitted $2.607 billion budget for the activation of the subregion standby force. The standby force is indicated to contain terrorism along with a 5,000 standby force.
The region, alternatively presented a budget of $481,459, 335 for a 1,650 standby force, with the meeting organised to decide which plan to be executed. Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar announced this at the opening of the meeting of the region’s Minister of Defence and Finance on modalities for financing and equipping the deployment of ECOWAS counter-terrorism force. The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alliou Touray expressed the move has become critical as the region has become the epicentre of terrorism.
Speaking at the conference, Nigeria’s Defence Minister said the assemblage is driven by the urgent need to consider the financing options in the memorandum to be submitted by the ECOWAS Commission for deploying the suggested regional force. He lamented that the region is endangered by insecurity and grave humanitarian challenges. The Minister said the standby force engagement has the backing of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and
Government.
The Minister while presenting the current security situation in the region, stated: “As you are all aware, our region is threatened by insecurity and grave humanitarian challenges. Terrorism and violent extremism have continued to threaten our collective existence. The cross-border free movement and activities of terrorist groups in the sub-region are deepening our internal security challenges.”
To address these challenges, the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government at its 62nd Ordinary Session carried in Abuja, on 4th December 2022 instructed the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff to urgently review and propose the options, modalities, financial and technical means for the urgent operationalisation of the ECOWAS Standby Force, including a special kinetic processes to combat terrorism.
As part of the enactment of these decisions, the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff assembled twice to deliberate and come up with recommendations, which were subsequently submitted to the 50th meeting of the Mediation and Security Council, at the Ministerial level on 5h July 2023 at Bissau.
Further, the minister said: “I am delighted to welcome you all to Abuja for this crucial meeting of the Ministers of Finance and Defence, to deliberate on the modalities for financing and equipping the deployment of the ECOWAS counter-terrorism force. On his part, Touray decried the damages caused to the region by terrorism, which include the large scale of Internally Displaced Persons, loss of territories and others.”
He stated that: “A huge humanitarian crisis with millions of internally displaced persons and refugees. You will all recall that some member states have lost control of important parts of their territories to terrorist groups. According to the 2024 Global Terrorism Index, the centre of terrorism has moved from the Middle East and North Africa into the sub-Saharan African region largely in the Sahel region.
