• Experts advise FG to deploy drones against insecurity
A series of high-level engagements between the Federal Government and the United States last week has opened the door to deeper security cooperation and expanded support for Nigeria’s counter-terrorism and stabilisation efforts.

This was as aviation and security experts called on the Federal Government to urgently adopt advanced drone technologies as a main strategy in tackling the growing threats of terrorism and violent extremism across the country.

Led by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, the Nigerian delegation held strategic meetings with key senior officials in the U.S. Congress, the White House Faith Office, the State Department, the National Security Council and the Department of Defence.

Throughout the discussions in Washington, D.C., the Nigerian team firmly dismissed allegations of genocide in the country, stressing that violent attacks hit Nigerians across all religious and ethnic lines, without discrimination.

According to the delegation, portraying the crisis as targeting one group distorts reality, fuels division, and hands violent extremists exactly the kind of propaganda they thrive on.

U.S. officials, in response, affirmed their continued partnership with Nigeria and signalled willingness to ramp up support across multiple fronts. They also expressed their readiness to provide complementary humanitarian assistance to communities affected by violence in the Middle Belt, alongside technical support to strengthen early warning systems and sharpen rapid response mechanisms.

Beyond humanitarian and technical backing, Washington committed to deepening intelligence cooperation, accelerating the processing of defence equipment requests, and exploring the possible provision of excess defence articles, subject to availability, to bolster Nigeria’s operations against terrorists, bandits, and violent extremist networks across the country.

Both sides agreed to activate a non-binding cooperation framework immediately and establish a Joint Working Group to drive coordinated action and ensure follow-through on all commitments.

The Presidency, in a statement issued yesterday by Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, explained that the week-long engagements helped correct misconceptions about Nigeria’s security landscape, rebuilt trust, and deepened a solution-driven partnership between Abuja and Washington, particularly around responses to violence in the Middle Belt.

THE experts expressed concern that the menace was gaining momentum in the country, while the government seemed helpless despite attempts to stop the challenge.

A U.S.-based Nigerian aviation expert, Femi Adeniji, in an interview with The Guardian, yesterday, said Nigeria must now move away from “outdated, manpower-heavy methods” and embrace the same technologies that helped many Western nations reduce terror attacks within their borders.

Adeniji, who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nigame Aircraft Consult in U.S., said that while citizens still play an important role in supporting national security, over-reliance on human intelligence, especially in an atmosphere of mistrust and corruption, would limit effectiveness.

Insisting that this is an era of advanced technology, he noted different types of drones in the world, such as the Resolute Eagle, which numerous countries, including Mexico and Guatemala, have deployed to combat crime and criminality in their respective domains.

“The best approach now for any serious government is the adoption of technology. For instance, I know the Resolute Eagle. This technology can be controlled from anywhere; the operator does not have to be close to the war zone. It can carry International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)-approved arms, cannot be seen or heard from the ground, and can record activities live as they happen. Those are the modern technologies the government should be going for, not outdated equipment.”

According to him, the drone flies at 21,000 feet above sea level, has an endurance of eight hours, and could be rapidly deployed to any conflict zone for monitoring, tracking, capturing or disrupting terrorist movements.