President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has returned to Abuja after participating in a high-level counter-terrorism dialogue in Rome, Italy, where he joined several African Heads of State and international partners at the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government-level Meeting.
The summit, co-chaired by Jordan and Italy, was convened to address the deepening security crisis across West Africa, focusing on the expansion of terrorist networks, the growing “crime-terror nexus,” and the increasing overlap between land-based threats in the Sahel and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
According to a statement from the Presidency, participants engaged in intelligence assessments and developed strategies to bolster regional and international collaboration against these cross-border challenges. Key strategic discussions included joint operations to counter terror on land and sea, and coordinating efforts to disrupt digital platforms used for radicalization and recruitment.
On the sidelines of the meeting, President Tinubu conducted several bilateral engagements, including a significant meeting with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The Presidency confirmed that these discussions specifically addressed the issue of “religious harmony in Nigeria” and countering “widespread disinformation campaigns that falsely portray the country as intolerant of religious diversity.”
President Tinubu was accompanied by a high-powered delegation, including the National Security Adviser and the Minister of Defence, underscoring Nigeria’s commitment to closing operational gaps in counterterrorism efforts across the sub-region.
