The Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism, UNOCT, Mr. Vladimir Voronkov has concluded a week-long high-level visit to Nigeria during which he held a series of high-level meetings top Nigerian officials, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Voronkov also met with Nigeria’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Maitama Tuggar and Mohammed Badaru Abubakar of Defence as well as the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency Ahmed Rufai Abubakar; Chief of Army Staff Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja; Police Inspector-General Kayode Egbetokun, and President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Omar Alieu Touray.
The UN Information Centre in Abuja says the visit was marked by fruitful discussions which focused on enhancing cooperation on countering terrorism and violent extremism in Africa and advancing preparations for an upcoming African Counter-Terrorism Summit in Abuja in 2024.
This Abuja Summit will be organized under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General and the President of Nigeria. It will provide a forum for Member States, International and Regional organizations and Civil Society to review the terrorism landscape in Africa and agree on concrete priorities and measures to address this scourge in a comprehensive manner. A pre-summit ministerial meeting will take place on 21st September on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly High-Level Week.
During the visit, Under-Secretary-General Voronkov signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Government, met with Nigerian Youth leaders and took part in a wreath-laying ceremony with Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu to honour the memory of 23 United Nations staff and civilians who died in the 2011 terrorist attack on the UN House in Abuja.
Voronkov also travelled to Maiduguri, Borno State, to see first-hand the impact of terrorism on the local population and the international community’s support in the rehabilitation and reintegration processes, as well as to raise international awareness about the persistent insecurity in the Lake Chad region. In Maiduguri, he visited the Bulumkutu transit centre, a UN-supported reintegration centre for women and children formerly associated with armed groups. He was also at the Joint Investigation Centre,
a multi-agency hub for screening and investigating individuals detained during counter-terrorism operations in the North-East and onward referral for prosecution or rehabilitation and reintegration.
Mr. Voronkov emphasized that UNOCT, through its Global Programme on Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration, PRR, continues to support Borno State and Nigeria in these efforts.
The Under-Secretary-General and his UNOCT delegation have since returned to New York from Abuja.
