THE Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced bold plans to activate a 260,000-strong rapid deployment counter-terrorism brigade, with an annual budget of $2.5 billion to combat rising insecurity across the region.
News Point Nigeria reports that the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, disclosed this during the 2025 African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit held in Abuja, themed: “Combating Contemporary Threats to Regional Peace and Security in Africa: The Role of Strategic Defence Collaboration.”
Represented by the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, Touray said the initiative would focus on funding logistics, supporting frontline states, and operationalising rapid deployment forces against terrorism and organised crime.
Touray warned that the Sahel region has become the global epicentre of terrorism, accounting for 51 percent of terror-related deaths worldwide in 2024.
“There is no gainsaying that West Africa, in particular the Sahel sub-region, has emerged as the epicentre of global terrorism,” he said.
He explained that while ECOWAS is still committed to its existing 5,000-man regional standby brigade under the African Peace and Security Architecture, the new 260,000-man force has become necessary given the asymmetric and fast-changing security threats in the region.
To actualise the plan, ECOWAS will convene a meeting of Defence and Finance Ministers on Friday in Abuja to finalise funding arrangements.
Touray stressed that ECOWAS is also seeking support from international partners, particularly the United Nations, to redeem its pledge under UN Security Council Resolution 2719 (December 2023) to cover 75 percent of African-led peace operations.
“By this initiative, ECOWAS is throwing the gauntlet to bilateral and multilateral partners to complement this daring regional initiative,” he added.
Beyond terrorism, ECOWAS is working to operationalise its integrated maritime security strategy, with three regional maritime centres, an international coordinating hub in Abuja, and stronger measures against transnational organised crime and piracy.
Former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, raised alarm that over 1,000 insurgent groups now operate across Africa, urging the continent to build homegrown defence industries and indigenous security technologies.
He said African nations must first secure their own territories before collectively tackling regional and continental threats.
“There must be synergy in military cooperation, promotion of common training, doctrinal concepts, sharing of intelligence, and interoperability of armaments,” Gambari stated.
He warned that unless Africa builds its own defence industries, it will remain vulnerable to external influence and dependency.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, also addressed the summit, urging African nations to embrace unity, joint training, shared intelligence, and modernisation of their armed forces.
He noted that Africa is “on the edge of unprecedented opportunity,” but warned that its vast resources and youthful population are being undermined by terrorism, violent extremism, climate change, piracy, and organised crime.
“These challenges recognise no borders. They are resilient and demand a response that is equally dynamic, unified, and strategic,” Musa said.
He further cautioned that modern warfare now extends into cyberspace and digital domains, stressing the need for investment in cyber defence, artificial intelligence, and indigenous military technology.
“The enemy is within… We must lead the charge in modernising our forces. Without such investments, it will be difficult to achieve the security we desire,” Musa said.
If successful, the proposed $2.5bn counter-terrorism brigade could become the largest coordinated African-led security initiative in history, with the potential to transform the regional fight against terrorism and organised crime.