The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has activated its Standby Force to curb terrorism and other transborder crimes in the sub-region.

Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, announced this during the 43rd ordinary meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of the Chiefs of Defence in Abuja yesterday.

The meeting was attended by Chiefs of Defence Staff of ECOWAS member countries except Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which had withdrawn from the sub-regional body

Others at the meeting were the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs Peace and Security, Dr. Abdel-Fatau Musah; Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar; Chief of Defence Intelligence, Emmanuel Undiandeye; the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and members of the diplomatic community.

Badaru said the meeting underscored their shared commitment to addressing the critical security challenges confronting the sub-region.

He called on the West African Chiefs of Defence Staff to close ranks to break the cycle of terrorism and armed violence confronting the region.

According to Badaru, by leveraging their collective expertise, resources and commitment, they can make a tangible impact on fostering peace, stability and prosperity in the sub-region.

“In this regard, I am pleased to announce the activation of the ECOWAS Standby Force to combat terrorism in the sub-region,” Badaru said.

“The activation of this force underscores our collective determination to confront the stretch of terrorism with regard to the security of the subregion.

“We must as a sub-region therefore recognise that our strife towards economic growth and development will invariably be fundamental to a home-grown sustainable peace and security.

“We as stakeholders in the sub-region must identify and strictly adjust to the changing order of the global landscape in which emerging threats of terrorism, organised crime, climate change, cybercrime and pandemics respond with respect to our parties.”

ECOWAS Commissioner, Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Dr. Abdel-Fatau Musah, said despite the recent withdrawal of three African countries, the ECOWAS maintains the free movement of persons and goods.

He said: “On 29 January 2025, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger formally withdrew their memberships from ECOWAS.

“Following the directives of the Authority of Heads of State and Government at the last Summit in December 2024, the ECOWAS Commission has now initiated a contingency plan to mitigate the unforeseen consequences of their withdrawal.

“I so wish to stress that ECOWAS still has its doors open to welcome back our brothers and sisters from the countries that recently withdrew from our community.

“In this regards, ECOWAS committee of heads of state has directed that despite the withdrawal, ECOWAS must maintain the free movement of people and goods and the rights of settlement and establishment to all citizens of our community, including those from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in the spirit of where ECOWAS is going, that is, building a community and a united force of people and we do not want the ordinary citizens of our member states to suffer.”

Musah said the pledges made by the member states were being reconfigured in compliance with the directive to activate the Standby Force in the kinetic mode.

Egbetokun commended the ECOWAS defence forces for playing critical roles in stabilising the region.

“Our collective efforts to enhance regional security, counter transnational threats and promote defence cooperation will no doubt yield possible outcomes for our nation and our people,” he said.