Watertight Security for ECOWAS Summit in Freetown

By Prince C. Kamara

Lungi, offshoot of Freetown which houses the Freetown International Airport and now the Julius Maada Bio ECOWAS Conference Center will this week draw international attention as President Julius Maada Bio welcomes his colleagues from ECOWAS states to the 59th ordinary summit of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments,

The Office of National Security (ONS) in Sierra Leone is coordinating with the Civil Aviation Authority, police, and military to enforce strict access controls, traffic management, and delegate protection during the ECOWAS Summit in Freetown and Lungi from July 17–19, 2026.

In order to ensure a seamless, safe and secure summit, the Office of National Security (ONS) headed by Mr. Abdulai Caulker is coordinating the efforts of the security sector (Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), Sierra Leone Police (SLP), National Fire Force and all other security sector players.

In furtherance of this, the ONS in consultation with its partners has taken key measures. These include restricted airport access, shuttle systems for delegates, cargo lockdowns, and heightened surveillance around summit venues.

As all of this is unfolding, the National Security Coordinator (NSCoord) of the Office of National Security (ONS), Abdulai Caulker, has strongly defended the state of national security in Sierra Leone, declaring the country one of the most peaceful nations in the world.

He made this statement during a comprehensive national security update where he praised the efforts of the security management team and addressed concerns surrounding decentralized security structures, while also dismissing what he described as misinformation circulating on social media.

Mr. Caulker highlighted the framework of Sierra Leone’s intelligence and security system, adding that national security is not managed solely by the ONS, but through a decentralized structure involving multiple sub-institutions and local committees.

According to him, these structures are designed to maintain law and order at all levels of society, with many of the community-based security mechanisms headed by Paramount Chiefs, who play key roles in intelligence gathering, conflict resolution, and early warning systems.

The NSCoord Abdulai Caulker further alluded that the security sector has performed effectively in safeguarding the country through enhanced inter-agency collaboration and operational coordination.

According to him, these efforts have helped mitigate internal threats and maintain national stability, allowing citizens to continue enjoying peace across the country.

“Sierra Leone remains one of the most peaceful countries in the world,” he said, noting that the prevailing peace is evidence of the efficiency and commitment of the security sector in fulfilling its constitutional mandate.

He spent a significant part of the briefing focusing on what he described as a “rising trend of anti-state propaganda and fake news targeting the ONS and other security institutions.”

He referenced recent online publications, alleging that misleading images, blog posts, and defamatory narratives were being circulated with the intent to cause panic and undermine public confidence in the security sector.

The National Security Coordinator said in order to address these challenges, there is need for sustained sensitization of journalists on the mandate, operations, and structure of the ONS. He used the opportunity to urge journalists to verify information directly with the institution rather than relying on unverified social media sources.

The ONS remains committed to maintaining national stability through coordination, intelligence sharing, and community-based security engagement.

By hosting the 69th ECOWAS summit on 19 July in Freetown and Lungi, Sierra Leone is using an ordinary meeting to signal its diplomatic comeback and frame the bloc’s transition after years of coups and withdrawals.

The Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), chaired by Julius Maada Bio, will hold its 69th ordinary session on 19 July 2026 in Freetown, a meeting described by the Sierra Leonean presidency as a turning point in the country’s diplomacy.

Beyond the protocol, the Freetown summit is being shaped as a transition moment on several fronts: a transition for Sierra Leone itself, which seeks to strengthen its role as a regional platform for dialogue and mediation.

Ahead of the leaders’ meeting, Freetown will host a dense sequence of preparatory sessions, including the Administration and Finance Committee, the Mediation and Security Council and the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, all scheduled at the Bintumani International Conference Center.

On the eve of the summit, President Julius Maada Bio is due to officially inaugurate the Julius Maada Bio International Conference Center in Lungi, which bears his name, as well as an ECOWAS logistics depot, further anchoring the organization’s physical footprint in Sierra Leone.

For Foreign Minister Alhaji Musa Timothy Kabba, this sequence marks an important moment in the country’s diplomatic history and confirms its transformation from a conflict-ridden state into a recognized player in regional peace, security and economic development dynamics.

The summit is expected to bring together Heads of State and Government from ECOWAS member countries, with a large number of leaders already confirming their participation. Organizers say the meeting will be among the largest ECOWAS summits in terms of attendance.

Against this background, commendation for the ONS Coord Abdulai Caulker and his team continue to flow from different public and private quarters, all urging and praying for the security sector players to make Sierra Leone proud by maintaining watertight security from the beginning to the end of this most-important conference.