Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has called for a major overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture, urging greater local arms production and stricter financial monitoring to block funding for criminal and terrorist networks. Kalu made the call on Saturday in Abuja at the Nigeria People’s Strategic……
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has called for a major overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture, urging greater local arms production and stricter financial monitoring to block funding for criminal and terrorist networks.
Kalu made the call on Saturday in Abuja at the Nigeria People’s Strategic Conference and Defence Exhibition 2026, themed “Building a Modern Security Ecosystem: Integrating Private Sector Capacity into Nigeria’s National Security Architecture.”
He said Nigeria must reduce its dependence on foreign military equipment by strengthening domestic defence manufacturing capacity, stressing that local production would not only improve security readiness but also create jobs and reduce vulnerabilities.
This was contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Speaker, Levinus Nwabughiogu, on Saturday, June 13.
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The Deputy Speaker also tasked the financial sector with tightening safeguards against illicit financial flows, insisting that criminal and terrorist networks must be cut off from funding sources.
“Every sector represented in this room must leave with a specific, measurable role in Nigeria’s security architecture. The defence industry must deepen local capacity so that we do not import what we can produce. The technology sector must offer platforms for intelligence sharing and community early warning. The financial sector must tighten the chokepoints through which criminal and terrorist financing flows. The civil society must continue to build the bridges between communities and government that make sustainable peace possible,” he said.
He added that the National Assembly would continue to provide legislative backing and oversight to strengthen national security efforts.
“And the legislature, we will continue to provide the legal scaffolding on which all of this is built. We will continue to review the constitution where it needs reviewing. We will appropriate resources where resources are needed. We will provide oversight to ensure that what is promised is delivered. We will legislate not for public applause but for the protection of lives and the dignity of every Nigerian,” Kalu stated.
The Deputy Speaker disclosed that the House of Representatives recently voted overwhelmingly in support of the constitutional amendment on state policing, describing the 289 to 2 vote as a reflection of national unity and patriotism.
“I am proud to serve in an assembly that just two days ago voted 289 to 2 in favour of a safer Nigeria. That near-unanimity was not partisan. It was patriotic. And it must be matched by an equal unity of purpose in this room today,” he said.
Kalu maintained that Nigeria remains a nation in struggle rather than failure, calling for sustained collective effort to build stronger institutions and systems.
“Nigeria is not failing. Nigeria is fighting. There is a difference. A failing country stops trying. Nigeria has never stopped trying. That is our heritage. That is our irreducible character. But resilience must be met by structure. Courage must be met by policy. The sacrifice of the Nigerian people deserves a security ecosystem worthy of the sacrifice,” he said.
He further described national development as a shared responsibility, urging stakeholders across sectors to commit to building a more secure and functional country.
“There is a Nigeria on the other side of this season. That Nigeria is not a promise. It is a project. A project that belongs to all of us; both the legislature and the executive, the uniform and the suit, the community and the corporation, the government and the governed. We are a people worth fighting for. This republic is worth building. And let this moment be the moment we decide, formally and finally, to build it together,” he added.
