The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), in collaboration with the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, UK, held Counter Terrorism Theory and Practice Course, for representatives of various Security and Defence Agencies in Abuja, from 9-13 December, 2024.
Officials and participants at the CT course in a group photograph
At the opening ceremony, the National Coordinator of the Centre, Maj Gen Adamu Garba Laka, called for enhanced inter-agency collaboration and cross-border relationships to stem the tide of terrorism. He said the course facilitated by the Nigeria-UK Strategic Defence Partnership, had created the avenue for national development that embodies a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach in addressing terrorism concerns in Nigeria.
Director Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, NCTC, Amb. Mairo Musa Abbas (far left); Course Facilitator from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst UK, Dr Aaron Edward (3rd left) National Coordinator, NCTC, Maj Gen AG Laka (4th Left); Director Policy and Strategy of the Centre, Care Ahmad Abubakar Madawaki (3rd right) Head CT Network for West Africa, British High Commission, Abuja, Lawrence Devlin, and others at the opening ceremony of the CT course in Abuja
According to him, there is no doubt that terrorism has a profound negative impact on the nation, citizens as well as international partners.
Laka said that acts by terrorists and other criminal elements must be adequately tackled through continuous collaboration by security stakeholders.
National Coordinator NCTC Maj Gen AG Laka (left), assisted by Lawrence Devlin (right), presenting certificate of participation to one of the course beneficiaries
He said that no agency could solely achieve laudable success in the fight against terrorism, emphasising the need to collaboratively identify individual crucial roles and collaborate to record great progress.
“This course reaffirms a call to re-awakening for collaborative efforts which we all must embrace, as victory by one is victory by all of us and a greater victory for our entire nation, the African continent and the world at large,’’ the National Coordinator said.
In his remarks, the Head, Counter-terrorism Network for West Africa, British High Commission, Lawrence Devlin, said the engagement seeks to build upon the UK’s commitment to Nigeria to address shared security challenges. Devlin said the course would address the fundamental themes in counter terrorism taking a broad view of the security challenges posed by terrorists in the 31st century.
A cross section of some of the officials at the event
The Course Facilitator, Dr Aaron Edward, said the course was designed to get a firm understanding of the contemporary terrorist threat. According to him, understanding the security challenge that we face can lead to a much more productive outcome and to ultimately make our society safer.