President Bola Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Community Engagement in the North Central Dr. Abiodun Essiet has unveiled a community-led early-warning network aimed at supporting the tackling of security challenges across the region.
The move is part of a broader summit that drew Governors, Security Chiefs and critical stakeholders to Benue State.
In a statement, Dr. Essiet said the North Central Security Summit 2026 in Makurdi, hosted by Benue Governor Hyacinth Alia, she introduced the North Central Community Early Warning and Early Response Network, a platform designed to improve grassroots intelligence gathering and accelerate responses to emerging threats.
According to her, the network will create formal channels for community members, traditional leaders and security agencies to share information and coordinate interventions before incidents escalate.
“Communities are often the first to detect warning signs,” Dr. Essiet said.
“Strengthening those community links is essential to preventing violence and protecting lives and livelihoods.”
The three-day summit—which the Federal Ministry of Defence supported—brought together senior government figures, security and intelligence agencies, lawmakers and civil-society representatives.
Among attendees were Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, who represented President Bola Tinubu; Governors Hyacinth Alia (Benue), Abdullahi A. Sule (Nasarawa) and Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau); and officials from ministries including Humanitarian Affairs and Information.
The presidential aide described the initiative as part of a shift toward community-centred security policy, emphasizing improved intelligence sharing, inter-agency coordination and rapid-response mechanisms.
Summit discussions also stressed addressing socio-economic drivers of insecurity, such as competition over land and scarce resources, to reduce the risk of violent outbreaks.
The Defence Ministry has said that its involvement would help align community reports with national intelligence and operational planning, though specific operational details, including funding and lines of command – were not disclosed at the launch.
NewsQuest reports that institutionalizing community reporting can close gaps in early detection, but success will hinge on clarity of roles, sustained funding and safeguards to prevent misuse of local information networks.
Dr. Essiet said her office will work with state governments and security agencies to pilot the network in target communities before scaling it across the zone.
