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Abuja, Nigeria
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has said Nigeria must increase its intelligence capabilities to effectively combat the myriad of security challenges confronting it.
Abbas spoke while declaring open a public hearing organised by the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence on three bills aimed at boosting Nigeria's intelligence architecture. The proposed legislations are the Bill for an Act to Establish the Department of State Services Trust Fund, the Bill for an Act to Establish the Strategic Intelligence Management Institute, and the Bill for an Act to Provide for the Establishment of the DSS Research & Development Institute.
According to the Speaker, "Across the country, challenges like terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, cyber threats, transnational crimes and other emerging security concerns continue to test our national institutions. In order to effectively confront these threats, we must improve our ability to gather, analyse and deploy intelligence in a timely and coordinated manner".
He noted that the proposed legislation represents a comprehensive move to strengthen the country's security framework, moving away from unpredictable funding mechanisms to a more sustainable framework that strengthens operational readiness and institutional effectiveness.