President Bola Ahmed Tinubu left Abuja today for Rome, marking his 16th foreign trip of 2025, where he will engage in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Level Meeting focused on addressing West Africa’s escalating security challenges.
The summit, set to begin on October 14, will convene African heads of state, senior intelligence and military officials, as well as representatives from multiple intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.
This gathering aims to examine the security landscape in West Africa, with particular attention on the growing threat posed by terrorist networks, crime-terror linkages, and the spillover between Sahel land-based terrorism and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
Initiated in 2015 by King Abdullah II of Jordan and co-chaired by Jordan and Italy, the Aqaba Process serves as a counter-terrorism collaboration platform. Participants will share assessments, strengthen regional and international partnerships, and strategize on disrupting terror activities on both land and sea. Emphasis will also be placed on combating online radicalization and cutting digital networks facilitating terrorist propaganda.
President Tinubu will participate in plenary sessions and hold bilateral talks with other leaders to explore cooperative security measures for the subregion’s increasingly threats.
Accompanying the President are key Nigerian officials including Bianca Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Badaru, Minister of Defence, Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, and Mohammed Mohammed, Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency.
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