Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have been urged to rejoin the regional union by the Chiefs of Defense Staff of West Africa. General Christopher Musa, the Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Chairman of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff said this on Friday, 9 August 2024, while escorting the Defence Chiefs to visit Maj. Gen. Adamu Laka, the National Coordinator of the Counter-terrorism Center, in Abuja.

According to the regional Defence Chiefs, their return was necessary to combat the insurgency and other forms of insecurity that are wreaking havoc across West Africa. General Musa said that all hands must be on deck to reduce insecurity in West Africa and that efforts were being made on their end to guarantee that the three countries were once again members of ECOWAS.

“We feel that progress cannot occur in the absence of security,” he stated. The risks we confront, particularly concerning insurgency, are also great. Thus, we believe we must work together to succeed. It is crucial because no nation can accomplish this on its own.

“We are aware that three nations have decided to resign. We’re doing all in our power to get them back into the fold because we know that even they can’t handle this on their own. Furthermore, we are aware that if they fail, it will also bring us down. For that reason, West Africans must keep cooperating. I think the National Coordinator did an excellent job, and I appreciate that.”

The CDS urged the ECOWAS Defence Chiefs to take all necessary steps to contain the threat, stating that the insurgency in the area was growing quickly and widely.

“We possess confidence that we will collaborate to guarantee complete tranquility inside our local area. At the beginning of this terrible exercise, which began like a joke, I had the honor of serving as the theater Commander for the Northeast.

“I believe that all of our encounters should inspire us to do so, demonstrating the limitations of our energetic efforts. The non-kinetic performs better, but we have to keep doing that because we need the two of them to work together.

Maj. Gen. Laka, the Nigerian Counter-terrorism Center’s National Coordinator, stated in his remarks that West African nations must work together to combat terrorism. We only moved in April, yet, so much has happened, of which we are quite proud. In addition, he noted that exchanging experiences among the nations in the region is essential for overcoming obstacles.

He further stated, “We hope to collaborate with our brothers in the Sahel and the West African sub-region. They claim the fire can spread to your house if it is burning in your brother’s.

“Thus, we must impart knowledge to one another. This is not going to be the only location. We intend to collaborate with Abidjan. It will, therefore, be a partnership. We will collaborate with all those centers to combat the threat posed by terrorism, even if we are specialists in combating it. After the declaration gets approved, we want to visit your Abidjan center.”

We are currently having discussions on how we will work together to confront this issue, which is essentially impeding progress and preventing our people from benefiting from democracy.

Therefore, Nigeria has a wealth of experience. I am aware that each nation has its unique history. Sharing our experiences will be our sole means of combating this threat. The center is prepared to handle the threat posed by terrorism, according to Laka.

“We have state-of-the-art forensic laboratories as part of our facility’s capabilities to combat the threat of terrorism,” he continued. Toxicology, fingerprint, DNA, handwriting, and so on are among the labs that we have. These items will make it easier to investigate potential terrorist threats and other issues.

Read Also: Kaduna Governor’s Aide Urges Nigerians to Remain Hopeful