The two-day high-level African Counter-Terrorism Summit opens on Monday in Abuja.
The summit, which is being hosted by Nigeria with the support of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), has as theme – ‘Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Institution Building to Address the Evolving Threat of Terrorism.’ It holds from April 22 to April 23.
According to a statement by Nigerian Presidential Spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, “the objective of the summit is to enhance multilateral counter-terrorism cooperation and reshape the international community’s collective response to terrorism in Africa, while emphasizing the importance of African-led and African-owned solutions.
“The summit will provide a platform to review the nature and severity of the threat of terrorism on the continent, with a view to agreeing on concrete strategic priorities and measures to address this scourge.
“It will also foster deeper regional collaboration, enhancing the institutional capacity of member states and facilitating the exchange of best practices and knowledge to combat the multifaceted threat of terrorism in Africa.”
Ngelale said that “Heads of State and government and high-level government officials across Africa, representatives of international organizations and multilateral institutions, members of the diplomatic corps, and members of civil society groups are expected to attend the summit.
“Ms. Amina Mohammed, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, will attend the event.
“Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser, and Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, the Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, UNOCT, will deliver the concluding remarks at the end of the summit.”
He also added that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will declare the high-level African counter-terrorism summit open.