Nigeria’s security forces have reorganized and refocused their efforts along the country’s northern and western borders in recent weeks. Newly appointed military leaders are turning their attention to a dangerous emerging threat.
The deadliest terrorist group in West Africa, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), claimed responsibility for its first known attack in Nigeria, in which it killed a Soldier and seized ammunition, cash and equipment on October 29 in Kwara State near Nigeria’s western border with Benin.
The next day, President Bola Tinubu ordered his newly appointed military leaders to confront new armed groups in north central, northwest and parts of southern Nigeria.
“We must not allow these new threats to fester,” he said after a ceremony at the presidential villa. “We must be decisive and proactive. Let us smash the new snakes right at the head. … Nigerians expect results, not excuses.
“I advise you to work together as a team. Compare notes, exchange information effectively and follow up proactively to ensure a seamless process. Work with other security agencies, and defeat this enemy once and for all. We need to clean them up, clear them out. I promise to provide all the support you need to get the job done.”
JNIM is an al-Qaida affiliate that has emerged from northern Mali and seeks to establish a caliphate throughout West Africa. Its entry into Nigeria further complicates matters for the Armed Forces of Nigeria, which has battled Boko Haram since 2009 along with multiple terrorist splinter groups.
Nigerian political scientist Folahanmi Aina said the attack within Kwara State was strategic, considering its location in central Nigeria and its proximity to the Federal Capital Territory, the seat of federal power.
“Given JNIM’s strength and capabilities, the group now poses an existential threat to Nigeria, which already faces multiple security threats,” he wrote in a November 14 article for The Conversation Africa. “But the group can be quickly repelled with the right measures in place.”
Experts say JNIM terrorists began settling in Nigeria as far back as 2021 in Kainji forest, which straddles the frontier with Benin and includes parts of Nigeria’s Kwara and Niger states.
“JNIM has likely operationalized rear support cells in northwestern Nigeria to open a second front in Benin,” researcher Liam Karr wrote in the Critical Threats Project’s Africa File on June 18.
JNIM militants have conducted attacks in Benin since April, including near the border with Nigeria. For several years, the group has operated within smuggling routes along the borders of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Togo and now Benin.
On June 12, JNIM attacked a military outpost in the Beninese town of Basso, less than 5 kilometers from the Nigerian border. On July 12, JNIM released a video taken on the Nigerian side of the border with Benin, stating its intent to set up a katiba, or brigade, in West Africa’s most populous country and increase attacks on its coastal neighbors.
“Warning signs have been there for a long time and are multiplying as the group extends its reach towards the Gulf of Guinea,” Institute for Security Studies researcher Taiwo Hassan Adebayo told The Africa Report. “Several Nigerian states share porous, poorly guarded borders with Benin and Niger. Unfortunately, few measures have been taken.
“Nigeria must act fast before the problem worsens. JNIM can sow chaos by tapping into armed-group networks.”
Aina believes Nigeria has improved its counterterrorism efforts with military and nonmilitary approaches. There is much work to be done, however, to prevent JNIM from gaining ground.
“A first step would be to strengthen border security and management by using advanced technologies, including facial recognition technology and unmanned aerial vehicles, to complement human intelligence on the ground,” he said. “The establishment of temporary military positions across Nigeria’s north central region for rapid deployment would provide useful offensive bulwarks against the advancement and expansion of armed groups into the north central region.”