The Presidency has disclosed that Nigeria is collaborating with intelligence agencies from Israel, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France to adopt an intelligence-based approach to tackling insecurity across the country.
It also said Nigeria will collaborate with any country, including North Korea, if such a partnership serves the nation’s security and economic interests.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Protocol, Mr Ademola Oshodi, made the disclosure on Monday during an interview on Arise News’ Daybreak programme.
Oshodi dismissed a US Congressional recommendation that the country should divest from Russian and Chinese partnerships to please the United States.
“We have intelligence-based solutions now. We are arresting people. Recently, those who killed people in the church in Ondo State, that is intelligence-based.
“Prior to that, sometimes, militants just get killed. Now they’re bringing them to court.
“We are checking bank accounts. They’re freezing bank accounts. That’s intelligence-based,” Oshodi stated.
He explained that the shift from kinetic military operations to intelligence-driven security responses represents a significant evolution in Nigeria’s counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency strategies.
“It’s nothing that can be done immediately. It is an ongoing thing with international partners.
“This money, funds are passed through the SWIFT system around the world and shadowy systems. We need international collaboration.
“That’s where the Americans come in. That’s where the British, the French, come in, the Chinese,” the presidential aide revealed.
The disclosure comes amid the current escalation of tensions in the Middle East following the US-Israel attacks on Iran and Iran’s retaliation over the weekend.
He said the multi-lateral intelligence cooperation framework appears designed to track terrorist financing, identify sponsors of insurgency, and build prosecutable cases against perpetrators rather than relying solely on military elimination of threats.
“Prior to that, you just execute people; militants get killed. Now they’re bringing them to court.
“We are checking bank accounts. They’re freezing bank accounts. That’s an intelligent base,” Oshodi emphasised.
The presidential aide cited the recent arrest of suspects in the Ondo church attack as evidence of the effectiveness of the intelligence-based approach, contrasting it with previous strategies that focused primarily on military confrontation.
Nigeria has faced persistent security challenges, including Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, banditry and kidnapping in the North-West and North-Central regions, separatist agitations in the South-East, and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
Oshodi’s comments follow growing pressure from the United States Congress for Nigeria to divest from Russian military partnerships and counter Chinese influence as part of measures to address security challenges.
A recent US Congressional report recommended that Nigeria should end military cooperation with Russia and implement measures to counter Chinese influence, among other controversial prescriptions.
However, Oshodi said Nigeria would not compromise its sovereignty or limit its partnerships based on pressure from any single country.
“Nigeria will do whatever it can in its power legally to ensure we have a safe, prosperous economy. It is our interest.
“We have to think about interest, not emotions, not sentiments. If the North Koreans are going to give us security, we will work with them.
“If the Americans are going to give us security, we work with them,” the presidential aide stated.
He emphasised that tracking international terrorist financing requires cooperation across multiple jurisdictions and intelligence networks.
“We need international partners. That’s where the Americans come in. That’s where the British, the French, and the Chinese come in to show we have international partners that will give us intelligence-based solutions to our problems. And that’s where we’ve seen the success right now in our intelligence, in our security challenges,” Oshodi said.
The intelligence cooperation framework appears to leverage different countries’ comparative advantages, American signals intelligence and satellite surveillance, British investigative expertise, French regional knowledge from their presence in West Africa, Chinese technological capabilities, and Israeli counter-terrorism experience.
The presidential aide defended Nigeria’s simultaneous engagement with intelligence agencies from rival powers, insisting that national interest would guide the country’s partnerships, not ideological alignment.
“If the Americans want to support us, they will support us, respecting our interests and sovereignty. That is what we should focus on,” he stated.
Oshodi dismissed suggestions that Nigeria faces the risk of US sanctions over religious freedom concerns or its partnerships with China and Russia.
“I believe America knows the pivotal importance of Nigeria in West Africa and Africa and even the global scene.
“America trades with Nigeria tremendously. Nigeria is a big player in the oil and gas sector and energy sector.
“Anything that upsets the Nigerian economy invariably affects the oil market and the American domestic economy,” he stated.
The presidential aide emphasised that Nigeria’s relationship with the United States must be based on mutual respect and recognition of each country’s sovereignty and interests.
“I’m pretty sure they will find a very closely aligned arrangement that will suit their own concerns, our own security needs, and then hopefully we’ll have a better, more secure West Africa,” Oshodi said.
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