President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scheduled to depart Nigeria on Sunday, 12 October, for Rome, Italy, to participate in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government meeting, aimed at tackling escalating security challenges across West Africa.
Tinubu's trip was confirmed in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The high-level summit, which formally opens on 14 October, will convene African leaders, senior defence and intelligence chiefs, as well as representatives from international organisations, to review the worsening security landscape in the region.
Launched in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan and co-chaired by Jordan and Italy, the Aqaba Process is a global counter-terrorism initiative designed to strengthen cooperation against terrorism and violent extremism.
This year’s session will focus on emerging threats in West Africa, including the expansion of terrorist networks, the nexus between organised crime and extremism, and the growing overlap between Sahel-based insurgencies and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
According to the statement, participants will exchange on-the-ground assessments, explore joint strategies to curb land and sea-based terror operations, and develop coordinated approaches to combat online radicalisation and disrupt digital platforms used for extremist propaganda and recruitment.
President Tinubu is also expected to engage in bilateral meetings with other world leaders on the sidelines of the summit, to seek deeper collaboration in addressing cross-border insecurity and stabilising the subregion.
"At the meeting, participants will exchange assessments of the current security landscape in West Africa and foster collaboration between regional and international partners to address cross-border security challenges.
"Participants will also develop strategies to counter the terror threat on land and the sea. The meeting will discuss ideas on how to coordinate efforts to combat online radicalisation and disrupt digital networks that facilitate terrorist propaganda and recruitment.
"In addition to attending the plenary sessions of the Aqaba meeting, President Tinubu will hold bilateral talks with other leaders to explore ways of addressing the rising security challenges across the subregion," the statement read.
The President will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed; and other senior government officials.
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