PREVIEW
The government wants to build a border fence to keep out insurgents
Defence chiefs are preparing the ground for major changes on border security and domestic procurement. At a security conference in Abuja in the week-ending 7 June, Chief of Staff General Christopher Musa became the first top official to propose the government should put up a border fence to protect it against Islamist militants and other insurgents attacking from neighbouring countries (AC Vol 65 No 24, Tinubu looks to his military home boys).
‘Border management is very critical,’ said Musa, adding that ‘other countries, because of the level of insecurity they have, had to fence their borders’. He cited Pakistan's 1,350-kilometre (839 miles) fence with Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia's 1,400km barrier with Iraq as successful precedents.
Nigeria borders Niger Republic, Cameroon, Benin and Chad, which are all grappling with escalating militant campaigns across the Sahel. In 2024, the Sahel suffered 3,885 terrorism-related deaths, more than half of the world total, according to the Global Terrorism Index produced by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace (AC Vol 66 No 6, Security tops the Ecowas agenda).
At the same time, Minister of Defence Mohammed Badaru Abubakar revealed that Nigeria is steadily moving from dependence on foreign military equipment to local production, as part of efforts to ‘boost efficiency and reduce reliance on imported hardware’. The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Bill, which has just come into force, is also intended to transform Nigeria’s defence capabilities.
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