Tinubu departs Abuja Sunday for security summit in Rome

President Bola Tinubu will on Sunday, October 12, depart Abuja for Rome, Italy, to participate in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Meeting, which will focus on tackling the worsening security situation in West Africa.

The statement was issued on Saturday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy on Saturday.

According to the statement, the meeting, which begins on October 14, will bring together Heads of State and Government, senior intelligence and military officials from African countries, as well as representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, to deliberate on the region’s security challenges.

The Aqaba Process, a counter-terrorism initiative launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan, is co-chaired by Jordan and the Italian Government. It aims to strengthen cooperation among nations in addressing terrorism, organised crime, and related threats.

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The forum will also discuss the growing spread of terrorist networks, the link between organised crime and terrorism, and the overlap between land-based terrorism in the Sahel and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

Participants are expected to exchange views on the current security situation in West Africa and develop coordinated strategies to counter both land and sea-based threats.

“The meeting will discuss ideas on how to coordinate efforts to combat online radicalisation and disrupt digital networks that facilitate terrorist propaganda and recruitment,” the statement said.

While in Rome, Tinubu is expected to hold bilateral talks with other world leaders on ways to strengthen regional cooperation in combating the rising insecurity across West Africa.

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