The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has commenced the movement of logistics stored in Nigeria to support the planned deployment of its regional counter-terrorism force.
The equipment, donated by the Chinese government, has been stored at Mogadishu Barracks in Abuja for several years pending the operationalisation of the ECOWAS Logistics Depot in Lungi, Sierra Leone.
The ECOWAS Commission said the logistics would be moved to the depot and distributed to frontline member states to strengthen regional efforts against terrorism.
The Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, said the exercise was important as the region prepares to deploy a 1,650-member counter-terrorism brigade.
“Today, with the issue of terrorism that is affecting the region, we need to deploy a force very soon, and we intend to do so, a counter-terrorism brigade by the middle of next year,” he said.
He said some of the equipment would be used to establish mobile headquarters for the planned brigade, while others would support frontline operations.
The equipment includes vehicles, tents, communication and command-and-control systems, audio-visual equipment, mobile showers, washrooms, laundromats and other camp materials.
He said ECOWAS was already deploying forces in Guinea-Bissau and The Gambia, adding that the logistics would strengthen the capacity of the regional force.
The Commissioner for Internal Services Chief Logistics Officer of ECOWAS, Dr Habibu Bappa, said some of the equipment would be sent to Benin Republic, while the rest would be transported to the logistics depot in Sierra Leone.
He said the equipment had remained in Nigeria because the logistics depot in Sierra Leone was not ready.
He said the depot, which was recently commissioned, would serve as a regional logistics and training hub, as well as a humanitarian relief centre.
As part of the exercise, ECOWAS donated three SUVs and a bus to the Nigerian Armed Forces in appreciation of the years spent safeguarding the equipment.
The ECOWAS officials commended Nigeria for its continued contribution to regional peace and security, particularly its role in supporting the stability and integration of West Africa.
The movement of the equipment marks a step towards operationalising the ECOWAS counter-terrorism brigade and strengthening the region’s collective response to terrorism.
