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By Tracy Moses
Security experts have renewed calls on President Bola Tinubu and the nation’s Service Chiefs to convene a discreet, intelligence-driven national security summit ahead of the 2027 general election.
The call comes amid worsening insecurity marked by banditry, terrorism and kidnapping across several parts of the country. In recent months, incidents of mass abductions, violent attacks on rural communities and assaults on security formations have heightened public anxiety, raising concerns about whether voters will feel safe enough to participate in the next general election.
Nigeria has also witnessed a steady decline in voter turnout over the last two election cycles, a trend many analysts partly attribute to fear of violence before, during and after elections. With less than two years to the 2027 polls, stakeholders warn that failure to decisively address the security situation could further deepen voter apathy and undermine the credibility of the electoral process.
Speaking exclusively with our correspondent, a retired Army captain, Umar Aliyu, urged President Tinubu to be deliberate in convening a security summit that prioritises intelligence and practical outcomes, noting that previous security gatherings had produced limited results.
Aliyu, founder of Goldwater and Riversand Consult, a Lagos-based security consultancy firm, said while security summits remain important, any meeting planned ahead of the 2027 elections must move beyond rhetoric.
“Security summits are useful and necessary, but they must be intelligence-driven and result-oriented. We have had several summits in the past, yet the outcomes have not matched expectations,” he said.
According to him, the current security leadership would benefit from structured collaboration with retired officers and private security experts, particularly in intelligence gathering, to confront the country’s complex and multi-layered security threats. “The Service Chiefs understand the situation.
They grew through the system and are best suited to handle it. However, there must be room for external contributions, especially in intelligence,” Aliyu said.
He advocated the creation of private military intelligence fusion centres, arguing that if private military security companies are allowed to operate, intelligence acquisition outfits managed by professionals should also be considered.
“These fusion centres can help drive intelligence gathering at the micro level. If we can manage intelligence properly, we can achieve the kind of precision seen in countries like Israel,” he said.
Aliyu added that Nigeria possesses a unique advantage in grassroots intelligence gathering which, if properly harnessed, could complement technological surveillance.
“Achieving this is not rocket science. If the United States can do it, Nigeria can too. What they have in satellite technology, we have in native intelligence and local networks,” he said, stressing that political will remains critical.
Also speaking, a security expert and golden member of the International Security Association, Switzerland, Mr Jackson Ojo, urged the Tinubu administration to adopt a quiet and discreet approach should it decide to convene a security summit ahead of the elections.
“If the President is ready to convene a security summit, it should be discreet. It is not something that should be announced publicly. Only those invited should know about it,” Ojo said.
He noted that previous summits, though well-intentioned, failed to deliver expected results, but maintained that such meetings remain necessary for strategic thinking.
“We have had several security summits at regional and national levels. The idea is good because it helps capture diverse perspectives, but implementation has always been the challenge,” he said.
Ojo recommended that participants at such a summit should include serving and retired military and paramilitary officers, intelligence experts, academics, traditional rulers and youth leaders.
“The venue should not be disclosed. Participants should be given clear terms of reference. Traditional rulers, in particular, can provide vital intelligence about their domains. At the end of the meeting, the information gathered should be studied and translated into a clear security blueprint,” he added.
With the 2027 general election drawing closer, analysts say growing anxiety over insecurity underscores the urgency for a coordinated national strategy that reassures citizens, safeguards the electoral process and restores public confidence in democracy.