ECOWAS to Deploy 260,000-Man Counter-Terrorism Force, Pledges $2.5bn Annual Funding
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced plans to establish a 260,000-strong rapid deployment counter-terrorism brigade as part of a sweeping regional effort to combat terrorism and violent extremism across West Africa.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, made the disclosure on Monday at the maiden African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit held in Abuja. The summit, themed “Combating Contemporary Threats to Regional Peace and Security in Africa: The Role of Strategic Defence Collaboration”, drew top military leaders, diplomats, and policymakers from across Africa and beyond.
Touray, who was represented by ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel-Fattah Musah, said the force will complement the existing 5,000-man brigade operating under the African Peace and Security Architecture and Continental Standby Force.
According to him, the deployment is necessary in light of the evolving asymmetric threats in the region, adding that ECOWAS is mobilizing financial and logistical support for frontline states.
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“We are conscious of the fact that this bold initiative requires the necessary financial resources and capabilities to make it a reality,” Touray said. “To this end, ECOWAS will be hosting a meeting of the Ministers of Finance and Defence this Friday in Abuja to agree on modalities for raising an annual budget of $2.5 billion for the activation of the regional counter-terrorism force.”
He urged bilateral and multilateral partners to support the regional effort, stressing that the United Nations must redeem its pledge under Security Council Resolution 2719 (December 2023) to cover 75 percent of African-led peace support operations.
Beyond counter-terrorism, Touray noted that ECOWAS is also strengthening maritime security with the establishment of three integrated maritime centres across the region and an international maritime coordinating hub in Abuja, in addition to strategies for tackling transnational organised crime.
The summit was attended by Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed; Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; service chiefs, former defence chiefs, diplomats, and representatives from 36 African countries.
Touray commended President Tinubu for championing regional security initiatives, noting that Nigeria’s transformation of its National Counter-Terrorism Centre into an African non-kinetic hub and the push for a Combined Maritime Task Force for the Gulf of Guinea will provide lasting security dividends and spur economic growth under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
By PRNigeria
