Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Bola Tinubu, Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa and others have stated that transnational and local solutions were needed to defeat insurgency, banditry and other forms of insecurity confronting the region and by extension, Africa.

They made the call at the 2026 Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX). It’s the first time a defence exhibition will be held in Nigeria.

Defence and security leaders, industry stakeholders, innovators and official representatives from over 50 countries converged on Eko Atlantic, Lagos, for the exhibition which kicked off yesterday until October 29, 2026.

The Africa International Defence Exhibition is designed to support structured engagement across capability development, industrial capacity, training-led readiness and procurement dialogue in a formal, protocol-led environment.

Speaking at the opening, President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Gen Birame Diop, commended the leadership of Nigeria for addressing peace and security across Africa, recognising Nigeria’s efforts through the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) that restored peace in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

He said that the exhibition is another testament to Nigeria’s leadership and commitment to regional stability and that Nigeria had once again demonstrated visionary leadership, affirming that Africa’s future security lies in the ability to design, develop and provide its own security solutions.

In his remarks, President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

Also echoed the complexities of the insecurity situation on the continent.

He said: “From our territorial borders to cyberspace, the threats confronting us have become more complex and much more interconnected; they threaten livelihoods and weaken the development of many African countries. African security must therefore command attention because there can be no enduring prosperity where fears govern daily lives.”

Speaking on the exhibition, the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, said: “We have visited other countries during exhibitions but we’ve never had one so, we felt that it was important that to put Nigeria back in the roadmap of hardware production, we need to do this. This is a win-win for Nigeria. We must produce what we need. We have over 66 countries here and this shows that international communities acknowledge the direction Nigeria is going and they also want to tap into the experience we have.”

Speaking also, Deputy Governor of Lagos, Obafemi Hamzat, who represented the governor of the state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said: “Each year, the Lagos State Governor funds over half of the security operations carried out in Lagos and we have built partnerships with private sectors which the federal government and other states have since adopted.

“We are expanding Closed-circuit television (CCTV) and increased the number from 480 in 2025 to about 780 in 2026, with the target of 3000 because we have learnt that modern security rests on technology, coordination and public trust as much as personnel, because the threats we face are increasingly becoming transnational and our responses must be too.”