Reps pass bill for military doctrine think-tank

The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill seeking to establish the Joint Doctrine and Warfare Centre, a think-tank designed to strengthen Nigeria’s military and paramilitary operations.

The proposed legislation, sponsored by the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, and Daniel Asama, aims to enhance coordination, capacity, and operational effectiveness across the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

Leading the debate on the bill’s general principles, Asama said the centre would provide a comprehensive framework for developing, validating, and disseminating joint military doctrines, while also coordinating interdisciplinary studies on multi-domain operations.

He noted that Nigeria faces complex security challenges such as terrorism, insurgency, and cyber threats, stressing that the absence of a dedicated institution for joint doctrine formulation has created operational gaps and limited synergy among the armed services.

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According to him, the proposed centre will integrate warfare strategies, address emerging threats, and provide strategic direction to improve defence and security operations. It is also expected to collaborate with defence institutions, international partners, and research organisations on doctrine development and simulation technologies.

The lawmaker added that the centre would include key stakeholders such as defence ministers, service chiefs, and security experts from the private sector, creating a platform for policy coordination and defence research.

He described the bill as timely, saying it would modernise Nigeria’s response to hybrid and asymmetric threats, strengthen interoperability among the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and promote regional and international defence cooperation.

The bill was unanimously supported by lawmakers through a voice vote and subsequently referred to the House Committee on Defence for further legislative consideration.