By Odita Sunday
Nigeria’s national security architecture must urgently adapt to a new security environment in which the nation’s sovereign frontier extends beyond physical borders into cyberspace, satellite networks, automated systems and the information ecosystem, the Special Assistant, Media to the Honourable Minister of Defence, Mrs Leah Babatunde, has said.
Babatunde made the declaration at The Policy Colloquium 2026, where she called for a strategic overhaul of the country’s defence architecture to confront emerging threats driven by technology, asymmetric warfare and the manipulation of information.
Speaking on the theme, “Securing the Sovereign Frontier: Strategic Defence Architecture, Emerging Technologies and Democratic Integrity in Nigeria,” she said the traditional concept of national defence, historically centred on territorial borders, terrain and kinetic force, was no longer sufficient to protect Nigeria’s sovereignty.
According to her, the rapid transformation of the security environment has created a new frontier spanning digital systems, satellite networks, artificial intelligence, automated platforms, algorithmic landscapes and information ecosystems that influence public trust.
She identified strategic defence architecture, emerging technologies and democratic integrity as three critical pillars that must work together to safeguard Nigeria’s stability in the years ahead.
Babatunde said the growing sophistication of asymmetric and multi-domain security threats required security institutions to operate with greater agility, stronger inter-agency coordination and forward-looking operational doctrines.
“Modern defence is no longer purely reactive; it must be predictive, integrated and strategically resilient,” she said.
She further stressed the need for Nigeria to build domestic capacity in emerging security technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, cyber infrastructure, geospatial analytics and autonomous capabilities.
While acknowledging the enormous opportunities presented by the technologies, she warned that their adoption without effective policy governance, ethical oversight and local technological capacity could expose the country to new vulnerabilities.
Babatunde said Nigeria must therefore move beyond dependence on imported security technologies and develop the capacity to shape and control the technologies critical to its national security.
“Nigeria must transition from being a passive consumer of security technology to an active driver of technological sovereignty,” she said.
She also linked national security to the protection of democratic institutions, warning against treating security and democracy as competing priorities.
According to her, a resilient defence architecture must protect constitutional order, critical electoral infrastructure and citizens from disinformation while strengthening public confidence in democratic institutions.
“Security and democracy are not competing priorities they are interdependent realities,” she said.
She maintained that national defence must ultimately serve to strengthen, rather than weaken, the rule of law and democratic governance.
Babatunde described The Policy Colloquium as a rigorous, non-partisan platform designed to bridge the gap between security policy, technology and democratic governance by bringing together defence strategists, policy architects, technologists, civil society leaders, academics, the media and key state actors.
She said the objective was not merely to identify Nigeria’s security challenges but to develop actionable solutions capable of informing public policy and strengthening national resilience.
Babatunde urged participants to approach the deliberations with candour, expertise and an unwavering commitment to national interest, stressing that the outcome of the discussions should translate into practical measures capable of strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture.
She expressed appreciation to participants for their service, leadership and commitment to a secure and prosperous Nigeria, and declared The Policy Colloquium 2026 open for what she described as “productive, insightful and impact-driven” deliberations.
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