Defence Minister, Defence Chief and NCTC Coordinator Lead Nigeria’s Charge for ECOWAS Solidarity Against Multiplying Terror Groups

Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Chief of Defence Staff and Counter Terrorism Coordinator spoke with one voice at the Abuja counterterrorism summit, calling for African unity, African-led solutions and urgent action against multiplying terror groups across ECOWAS and the Sahel.

Zig Diaries | Defence
Date: Wednesday, 03 September 2025
Time: 14:30 WAT
Location: 📍 Abuja, Nigeria

Their interventions came at the Regional Conference on Combating Emerging Terrorist Groups and Strengthening Sustainable Security, hosted by Nigeria’s National Counter Terrorism Centre in collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission.

Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar urged West African leaders to build a new era of collective security, warning that fragmented national responses can no longer contain the escalating wave of terrorism in the region.

“Security in one country is inseparable from the security of its neighbours,” Badaru declared as Special Guest of Honour.

He outlined three priority fronts for a joint framework: intelligence integration through real-time tracking and AI-enabled early warning, joint military operations through an operational ECOWAS Standby Force and rapid deployment task force, and addressing root causes through governance reforms, education and resilience.

Badaru linked Nigeria’s own reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to wider regional stability. He praised international partners including the UN, AU, EU, US and UK for their support but stressed that African resolve must drive the process. “This conference must deliver an actionable roadmap, not just words on paper,” he said.

Defence Chief Musa’s Push for African-led Solutions

Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, welcomed participants with a call for African-led solutions and deeper cooperation. His remarks, delivered on his behalf by Chief of Defence Operations Major General Emeka Onumajuru, warned that insurgents and criminal networks continue to exploit porous borders, ungoverned spaces and local grievances.

“While battlefield victories are necessary, we know that they alone cannot guarantee lasting peace. Sustainable security requires strategic-level cooperation,” Musa said, urging harmonised doctrine, improved interoperability and a balance of kinetic and non-kinetic measures.

He recalled August’s African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit in Abuja, which sent a clear message that Africa’s security challenges demand African-led solutions anchored on trust and solidarity. He stressed that the current gathering must translate vision into coordinated outcomes that strengthen resilience across the region.

NCTC Coordinator Laka’s Warning of Multiplying Threats

Major General Adamu Laka, National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, warned that terror groups are multiplying across the Sahel and West Africa, from Boko Haram and ISWAP to new cells such as the Lakurawa group.

“These groups are not only multiplying but exploiting digital spaces and new technologies to fight, radicalise and recruit, especially our youth,” Laka said. He tied the conference directly to the ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit of December 2024, which called for operationalising the ECOWAS Counterterrorism Force and securing sustainable funding.

He highlighted Nigeria’s 2025-2030 Counter Terrorism Strategy which aligns with ECOWAS and the Accra Initiative, underscoring the need for whole-of-society involvement from civil society, youth, faith leaders and academia.

Laka explained that the Counter Terrorism Centre operates 11 advanced forensic laboratories and has driven deradicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes as well as psychosocial support for victims. Nigeria has also concluded eight phases of terrorism trials with 775 convictions.

He reminded delegates that the Abuja Declaration of April 2024 recognised the Centre as a Regional Centre of Excellence, and partnerships with Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Egypt are reinforcing that status.

“For Nigeria this fight is not abstract, it is lived daily. We have endured waves of terrorist attacks and violent extremism, but through resilience, reforms and sacrifice, we have made significant progress,” he affirmed.

Fact Check and Background Context
Nigeria has been at the centre of West Africa’s counterterrorism battles for over a decade, facing Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgencies in the North East, banditry in the North West and violent extremism in the North Central. 

The country has supported multinational commitments through the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Basin and ECOWAS peace operations, while investing in deradicalisation through Operation Safe Corridor. 

The Sahel region meanwhile has emerged as the epicentre of global terrorism. According to the 2025 Global Terrorism Index, Burkina Faso is now the world’s most terror-impacted country, with Mali, Niger and northern Nigeria following closely. 

Over 18,000 deaths from extremist violence were recorded across the Sahel in 2024, almost half of all global casualties. 

ECOWAS is under pressure to operationalise its long-discussed counterterrorism force, with the Abuja conference positioned as a defining test of political will.

TAKE HOMES

From Badaru’s charge for unity, to Musa’s insistence on African-led solutions, and Laka’s warning of multiplying threats, the Abuja conference underscored a single truth. West Africa’s security cannot be outsourced. Survival and stability depend on ECOWAS solidarity, Nigeria’s leadership and partnerships that reach from regional capitals to local communities.

 🏷 Tags: Nigeria, Defence, ECOWAS, Sahel, Terrorism, Counterterrorism, Security, Abuja Conference, Africa

Nigeria’s Defence Minister, CDS and NCTC rallying ECOWAS:

#ZigDiariesDefence #Nigeria #ECOWAS #SahelSecurity #AbujaConference #AfricanSolutions #CounterTerrorism #RegionalUnity #SecurityCooperation #StopTerror #WestAfricaUnite #RenewedHopeAgenda