Security Crisis: Tinubu to attend Rome summit

President Bola Tinubu will depart from Abuja to Rome, Italy, on Sunday, October 12, to attend the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Level Meeting, where global and regional leaders will discuss the increasing security threats across West Africa.

The Aqaba Process was launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan, with its first session held in Aqaba, Jordan. It was created to improve global and regional cooperation against terrorism and violent extremism.

According to a statement issued Saturday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the meeting, which starts on October 14, will “focus on the changing security challenges in West Africa, including terrorism, organized crime, and maritime piracy.”

The Aqaba Process, started in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan and co-chaired by Jordan and Italy, is “a counter-terrorism initiative aimed at encouraging cooperation among nations to address transnational security threats,” the statement added.

Onanuga said the event would “bring together Heads of State and Government, senior intelligence and military officials, as well as representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations” to share assessments of the region’s security situation and “develop strategies to fight threats both on land and at sea.”

He noted that discussions will also include efforts to “fight online radicalization and disrupt digital networks that spread terrorist propaganda and recruitment.”

“President Tinubu will also hold bilateral meetings with other leaders on the sidelines of the Aqaba sessions to explore cooperative approaches to addressing the rising security challenges in West Africa,” Onanuga stated.

The President will be accompanied by key officials, including the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu–Ojukwu; the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed.