After three days of intense deliberations in Abuja, Nigeria, the maiden African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit ended today with a strong commitment to tackle security threats across the continent.

Delegates from 54 nations discussed challenges including insurgency, poor governance, transnational crimes, and terrorism, which claimed 51 percent of global terrorism deaths in 2024 alone, especially in the Sahel.

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, represented by Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, announced plans to scale up counter-terrorism efforts through strategic defence collaboration.

On Friday, ECOWAS will host finance and defence ministers to finalize funding modalities for a $2.5 billion annual budget to activate the regional counter-terrorism force.