Nigeria’s National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) is reviewing its strategy as terror organizations launch fresh attacks.
The NCTC, the Office of the National Security Advisor and other stakeholders discussed the strategy during a two-day workshop in February. It was held amid a surge in terror attacks near the country’s northern border with Niger. During the event, Maj. Gen. Adamu Garba Laka, the center’s national coordinator, characterized violent extremism as “one of the most complex security challenges of our time.”
“It threatens national security and the very fabric of various communities, institutions and social cohesion,” Laka said in a report on the center’s website.
The NCTC’s official antiterror strategy document, known as the Policy Framework and National Action Plan (PCVE), was developed in 2014 and revised in 2016. Laka said the new revision will incorporate a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to tackling radicalization and violent extremism. Laka said effective messaging also is crucial to combating extremist violence, promoting positive public engagement, and ensuring that counterterrorism efforts are proactive and evidence-based.
“A policy is only as effective as its implementation, and that is why we are gathered here today, to ensure that we take deliberate and strategic steps toward localizing and operationalizing this framework,” he said on the NCTC’s website.
The strategy revision coincided with evolving security threats. In late January, suspected fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) killed 20 Nigerian Soldiers, including a commanding officer, at a military base in the town of Malam Fatori, near the Nigerien border. The terrorists attacked in trucks outfitted with guns and overpowered Nigerian troops in a coordinated assault.
“The tactics used by non-state actors keep evolving and have become highly unpredictable,” Laka said in a Voice of America (VOA) report. “Nigeria is grappling with the challenges of insecurity, thanks to the efforts made by personnel and agencies in charge of securing the lives of citizens, which has ensured the decline in the number of such incidences.”
Kabiru Adamu, an analyst with Beacon Security and Intelligence Ltd., said attacks in the area likely will increase if it is not secured by the military.
“It appears to be that the objective of that particular attack is to weaken the response capability of the Nigerian military,” Adamu told VOA. “The fact that they did not fortify that place, the fact that they did not quickly replenish what was lost — we’ve seen consistently where churches are being burnt, military bases are being attacked.”
Security analyst Ebenezer Oyetakin argued that besides revising counterterrorism strategies authorities also must uncover terrorism financiers. In addition to battling ISWAP, Nigeria’s military has tried to halt a Boko Haram insurgency since 2009.
“When you take a look at the operation of al-Qaida, you compare it with ISIS — the way they move in their convoy — and then you compare it with Boko Haram, you’ll see the semblance, which means they’re too dynamic, they’re not just a bunch of illiterates that are trying to make ends meet,” Oyetakin told VOA. “We should look for those behind them rather than contending with policies that are not sincerely being implemented.”
In early March, the NCTC said it aimed to strengthen collaboration with the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) to synergize military efforts under the framework of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. The military juntas in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger established the alliance in 2024. Laka said cooperation with the AES will allow the countries to share information, resources and expertise.
“It is also well known that the challenges we face in countering terrorism are multifaceted and complex, requiring innovative approaches and steadfast determination,” Laka said on the NCTC website. “By coming together in this spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation, we strengthen our resolve and enhance our capabilities to effectively counter terrorism.”