ADF

Few in attendance were as excited as Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana to take part in the official groundbreaking ceremony to announce construction of the National Veterinary Reference Laboratory in Kigali, Rwanda. Nsanzimana was appointed minister of health in 2022, when Rwanda, like the rest of the world, still was feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nsanzimana, a physician and epidemiologist, previously led the Rwanda Biomedical Centre and is co-chairman of the Pandemic Fund’s governing board. The Pandemic Fund directed a $24.9 million grant to Rwanda, which includes $3 million for construction of the high-security BSL-3 biolab that aims to strengthen…

As internet access expands, African nations have become a laboratory for malicious actors worldwide who are developing new cyberattacks and committing cybercrimes. A new report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) found sharp growth in cybercrime across the continent between 2023 and 2025 with Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa — sub-Saharan Africa’s most online countries — under nearly constant attack by cybercriminals. “Cyber criminals are increasingly using Africa as a testing ground for new types of ransomware and other cyber-dependent attacks,” GI-TOC researchers wrote in their report. Over the past 20 years, internet access across African nations…

Mali’s military junta has failed to stem the momentum of the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) terror group, and analysts say the group is likely to continue pressing westward and southward imperiling more countries. In late October, the al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist group recorded its first attack in Nigeria, where it claimed to kill a Nigerian Soldier in Kwara State. On December 6 and 9, JNIM attacked two fuel convoys on the Bougouni axis, a main supply corridor linking Bamako to Côte d’Ivoire. According to Bakary Sambe, president of the Timbuktu Institute think tank, JNIM has flourished due to Malian counterterrorism failures, including…

Special Operations Forces operate in small, agile units, under a shroud of secrecy and with little external support. Because of their high-risk, low-profile missions they sometimes are known as “silent warriors.” But for a week during an exercise in Nairobi, they formed a true community as SOF operators from across Africa and the globe joined to share knowledge and build a professional network. Approximately 400 attendees, including SOF commanders from 32 African nations and 14 international partners, gathered from December 8 to 11 for Silent Warrior 2025, the continent’s premier special forces conference. They were urged to find new ways…

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”…