The National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, has asserted that sustainable solutions to terrorism and violent extremism across Africa must be firmly rooted in African ownership, indigenous institutions, and regional solidarity.
Ribadu made the declaration on Monday while delivering the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the High-Level African Lessons Learned Forum on Counter-Terrorism Cooperation, Intelligence Sharing and Emerging Technologies at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) in Abuja.
The high-level forum convenes regional delegates, international partners, and security experts to evaluate evolving transnational threats, share operational lessons, and strengthen multilateral counterterrorism architecture.
Ribadu stated that Nigeria’s fifteen-year experience in counterinsurgency demonstrates that kinetic and military operations alone cannot permanently eliminate terrorism.
He stressed the need for an integrated whole-of-government and whole-of-society model that incorporates financial intelligence, border control, strategic communication, judicial reforms, and community resilience.
“The threat of violent extremism can no longer be sustained through military and kinetic action alone. While security operations remain necessary, they must be systematically complemented by intelligence coordination, law enforcement, financial intelligence, judicial reform, and strategic communications,” he said.
The NSA noted that Nigeria’s operational experience highlights the vital necessity of integrating community resilience, education, youth engagement, and non-kinetic programming into the national security architecture.
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Earlier, the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Major General Adamu Garba Laka, said the centre has evolved into a strategic regional resource for peer learning and capacity development in West Africa and the Sahel.
Laka outlined key milestones under Nigeria’s National Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the Strategic Plan 2025-2030, highlighting that the centre has prioritised intelligence fusion, legal support, and regional cooperation.
He said institutional responses have been institutionalised through updated policy frameworks, including the National Strategy for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration, as well as the newly launched National Strategy for Combating Organised Crime 2027-2031.
According to him, through targeted non-kinetic programmes such as Operation Safe Corridor, more than 3,000 clients have undergone structured deradicalisation, psychological support, and vocational rehabilitation.
Concurrently, enhanced criminal justice coordination has secured more than 1,200 terrorism convictions through specialised phase trials, reinforcing accountability alongside rehabilitation.
The forum also highlighted the expansion of institutional linkages across Africa and international bodies. The NCTC has cemented formal cooperation agreements on training, intelligence sharing, and research with the African Union, the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, the National Defence College, and the Abidjan Counter-Terrorism Academy.
The forum builds directly upon foundational frameworks established during the Senior Officials Dialogue on Counter-Terrorism held in Madrid in May 2026, advancing practical cooperation across West Africa, the Sahel, and broader continental regions.
Participants over the next two days will review practical mechanics for real-time intelligence exchange, counter-terrorism financing, and technological oversight. By consolidating institutional lessons into actionable operational blueprints, the forum aims to establish permanent, trusted professional networks across African security agencies to counter transnational extremist threats.
