Dynamism of security environments necessitated expansion ONSA’s functions – Monguno

The National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, says the dynamic nature of the security landscape over the last three decades has necessitated the broadening of the mandate of his office.

The Head, Strategic Communication, ONSA, Mr Zakari Usman, explained that Monguno said this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

Monguno was speaking at the inauguration of the new Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC) building complex on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said the mandate of ONSA had been broadened to accommodate the needs of emerging security threats.

The NSA said that ONSA’s core mandate was to assess the security concerns of the country and advise the president on all matters bordering on national security.

“The dynamic nature of global and domestic security environments has necessitated the modification and expansion of some of the functions of ONSA.

“The office, through the activities of key interagency intelligence sharing platforms, assesses the security concerns of the country and advises the president on all matters bordering on national security.

“The platforms are the Intelligence Community Committee, Joint Intelligence Board, General Security Appraisal Committee and the Cybercrime Advisory Council.

“However, the series of amendments incorporated in the Terrorism Prevention Act in 2011, 2013 and 2022 have broadened the counterterrorism responsibilities of ONSA,” he said.

Monguno said the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) was established to meet the regional and global requirements as well as Nigeria’s commitments to the control of small arms and light weapons.

He added that the establishment of Cybersecurity Coordination Centre and NCTC to coordinate Nigeria’s counter-terrorism efforts as well as the upgrade of the Intelligence Fusion Centre (IFC), generated the need for larger, more secure and better-equipped facilities to optimally discharge the functions of ONSA.

“The new office is designed to accommodate the additional workforce and improved technological capabilities of the centre, particularly the Explosive Devices Analysis Office (EDAO), increasing activities of the Countering Violent Extremism – (CVE) department and the Joint Terrorism Analysis Branch.

He said that the new ONSA and NCTC building complex boasts of office spaces, a world-class hall, conference rooms, team rooms, laboratories, an auditorium, and an operations/crises centre.

Monguno said the facilities would further enhance Nigeria’s already recognised contribution to global counterterrorism policy and practice efforts and give impetus to Nigeria’s internal, bilateral, and multilateral cooperation and collaboration in tackling the menace of terrorism and violent extremism.

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his administration’s investment strategy in legacy infrastructure projects.

He said the conceptualisation, design and development of the new ONSA and NCTC buildings were based on Buhari’s vision of ensuring a robust national security enterprise for the country.

NSA also acknowledged the support of the National Assembly.

While inaugurating the projects, President Buhari said that delivering on the new state-of-the-art facilities had demonstrated his administration’s firm commitment to ensuring that Nigeria’s national security capabilities were kept abreast with the highest global standards.

According to him, these two world-class facilities will no doubt optimise our efforts at addressing the dynamic contemporary security challenges in our environment, especially countering terrorism and violent extremism.

The president congratulated Monguno and his team for the noble achievement, saying that the new facilities would enhance the desired peaceful and secure environment for the country.

In attendance at the commissioning ceremony were service chiefs, heads of the security and intelligence community, ministers, legislators, and representatives of bilateral and multilateral partners from the UN, AU, ECOWAS and other foreign missions.