ADF

Africa continues to experience some of the world’s highest levels of crime and the lowest levels of resilience to it. The Enhancing Africa’s Response to Transnational Organized Crime (ENACT) project’s 2025 Africa Organized Crime Index reported that the most pervasive offenses plaguing African nations are financial crimes; followed by human trafficking; nonrenewable resource crimes, such as illegal mining; trade in counterfeit goods; and arms trafficking. The increase in financial and counterfeit goods offenses reflects global trends. Between 2019, when the first ENACT report was released, and 2025, the cocaine trade was the fastest-growing criminal market on the continent, followed by…

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…

On a recent Wednesday at a pet crematory on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South African authorities destroyed nearly a metric ton of lion bones. The destruction of the confiscated remains was part of South Africa’s effort to end the captive breeding of lions and the trafficking of their bones to be used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). South Africa effectively banned the export of lion bones this year by setting the export quota for them at zero. South Africa has an estimated 12,000 lions raised on farms to be hunted compared to a wild population of about 3,000. Lions killed…

In the wake of a surge of refugees from neighboring Mali, Côte d’Ivoire is adding security forces along its northern border. The refugees are fleeing terrorist attacks and economic blockades in their home country. Côte d’Ivoire’s National Security Council said it was beefing up border security, including taking steps to register all Malians seeking asylum. GhanaWeb described the situation as “several unusual flows of refugees.” The latest refugee swell stems from renewed aggression by the terrorist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaida affiliate that has imposed a fuel blockade in Mali. The group has been expanding operations westward…

Abubakar Adamu began his military career with the Nigerian Army in 1987, years before the World Wide Web was invented and long before any place in the world had heard of, much less connected to, the internet. In 35 years of service, he watched as his career evolved alongside the digital revolution. An officer in communications and data processing, retired Maj. Gen. Adamu became the first commander of the Army’s Cyber Warfare Command in 2022. He played a significant role in helping Nigeria leverage technology to build its digitally enabled intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. Today, he advocates for…

Since its inception in 2002, Boko Haram has become the second-deadliest terrorist organization in Africa, just behind al-Shabaab. The group has skillfully leveraged clusters of terrorists and their families and a strong sense of community to thrive and maintain significant influence. These clusters serve as robust bases of militant support. With al-Qaida backing its agenda, Boko Haram has moved beyond rhetoric, engaging in abductions and raids to firmly impose its demands for an exclusive Islamic state governed by a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Boko Haram consistently responds to the government’s kinetic counterinsurgency approach by declaring itself a “marginalized voice”…

Nations came together in November to participate in Grand African Nemo 2025, an annual exercise aimed at honing the maritime security skills of coastal West African navies. The weeklong event aimed to strengthen navies’ ability to cooperate in response to Gulf of Guinea sea crimes, including illegal fishing, piracy, and human and drug trafficking. It launched November 10 in Accra, Ghana. The exercise, led by the French Navy, integrated national maritime operations centers, multinational maritime coordination centers (MMCCs) and regional information hubs in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; and Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo. It focused on strengthening regional coordination, collaboration and…

Chinese private security companies operate in at least 14 African countries, including Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya and Somalia, where Beijing’s activities in East African coastal waters are coming under greater scrutiny. Critics have condemned China’s aggressive gray-zone tactics for years, accusing the government of using the private security companies, also known as PSCs, to opaquely conduct state business, including coercive actions that fall just short of open warfare. Such gray-zone tactics now are used in African waters in the Indian Ocean, which China seeks to control. Aritra Banerjee, a defense and strategic affairs journalist who co-authored a book on India’s…

Organized crime formed in the wake of Africa’s postcolonial independence in the 1970s, proliferated through continental conflicts in the 1980s and ’90s, and exploded amid globalization and economic growth in the 2000s, according to a new report. Africa Organised Crime Index 2025 notes how criminal markets, actors and resilience have changed over time. The Enhancing Africa’s Response to Transnational Organized Crime (ENACT) project published the November 17, 2025, report. “Organised crime has expanded rapidly in Africa’s post-colonial states, in response to weak governance and socio-economic inequalities, and fuelled by abundant natural resources and rich biodiversity, as well as porous borders,…

As Sahelian insecurity continues its westward and southward surge, Ghana is beefing up its maritime security to address sea crimes such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, piracy, and illicit weapons trafficking. Many illegal weapons pass through Ghana on their way to the Sahel. Writing for The Africa Report magazine, analyst Kent Mensah noted that Ghana’s increasing collaboration with the European Union, Germany and France, which has completely withdrawn from the Sahel to focus more on coastal states, has positioned Accra as a “new stabilizing force in the region.” In September 2025, the Tonnerre, a French amphibious warship, entered the…