German Embassy Hosts Forum on Strategies to Tackle Nigeria’s Insecurity
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The Embassy of Germany in Nigeria has convened security stakeholders and policy experts to advance discussions on addressing Nigeria’s complex security challenges through a balanced mix of military and non-military approaches.
The high-level forum, themed “Kinetics and Non-kinetics – How to Make Nigeria Safe,” brought together diplomats, security officials, civil society actors and development partners to examine practical pathways for strengthening national stability.
Speaking at the event, German Ambassador Annett Günther said the panel was intentionally structured to reflect both security dimensions. She explained that representatives from Nigeria’s security institutions and Germany’s stabilisation and foreign affairs structures were selected to provide insights into kinetic and non-kinetic responses.
Günther stressed that Nigeria’s security crisis cannot be resolved by a single strategy. She called for coordinated collaboration among the military, police, governance institutions, communities, diplomats, media and civil society, noting that each actor must deploy its specific tools to achieve sustainable results.
She added that Germany would continue reviewing and refining its security cooperation with Nigeria, particularly in areas such as disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes, community mediation and preventive initiatives in conflict-affected northern regions.
The panel featured the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Major General Adamu Garba Laka, represented by Brigadier General Peter Cybor; Nigeria Country Manager of the Institute for Integrated Transitions, Bimba Thomas Jr; and Head of Stabilisation in Africa at the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Arne Hartig.
Panellists acknowledged that Nigeria faces multiple threats, including insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and North-Central, and separatist agitation and organised crime in the South-East while noting that many urban centres remain relatively secure. They identified poverty, unemployment and governance gaps as major drivers of instability.
Discussions also addressed the ongoing debate around state policing, with caution raised over potential politicisation if law enforcement structures are controlled solely at subnational levels. Participants referenced Nigeria’s 2025–2030 Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which identifies grievances arising from governance shortcomings as core triggers of violence.
Arne Hartig outlined Germany’s foreign policy priorities of security, freedom and prosperity, noting that Berlin invests over €300 million annually in crisis prevention, stabilisation and peacebuilding globally. He described Nigeria as a strategic partner and highlighted initiatives aimed at weakening criminal economies in the North-West.
The forum concluded with consensus that sustained collaboration among security agencies, governance institutions, communities and international partners remains essential, as neither kinetic nor non-kinetic measures alone can deliver lasting peace.
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