The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the African Union Counter-Terrorism Centre have warned that terrorist groups are increasingly exploiting social media, cryptocurrencies and emerging technologies to recruit members, conceal funds and coordinate attacks across West Africa and the Sahel.
They raised the alarm in Abuja on Tuesday at a three-day regional training conference on detecting and disrupting terrorists’ exploitation of information and communication technologies and emerging technologies.
The Acting Director, AU Counter-Terrorism Centre, Idriss Lalalli, said terrorist organisations, including the Islamic State West Africa Province, Boko Haram and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, were expanding their activities through digital technologies.
He said, “Across West Africa and the Sahel today, ISWAP, Boko Haram and JNIM are extending their reach through technology. They recruit on social media platforms, move and conceal funds via mobile money, gift cards and cryptocurrencies.
“They buy weapons on darknet marketplaces, communicate over satellite links beyond our networks, and fly drones across borders, using artificial intelligence to tailor propaganda and evade detection.”
Lalalli warned that the speed and relatively low cost of using digital tools had enabled terrorist cells to reach wider audiences and move faster than security agencies could respond.
“What makes this difficult is speed and cost. A cell with a modest budget can now reach audiences far beyond its physical presence and move faster than our procedures can respond. The capability to counter it remains thinly and unevenly distributed across our Member States,” he said.
The director, however, said the capacity gap could be addressed through specialised training, regional coordination and stronger collaboration with private-sector operators.
Lalalli said the programme would equip participants with skills in cyber threat intelligence, open-source intelligence, digital forensics and blockchain analysis to help them track online recruitment networks, preserve digital evidence and trace cryptocurrency transactions.
He stressed that the different areas of training needed to work together to support investigations and prosecutions.
The AU official also called for stronger partnerships with social media companies, telecommunications operators and financial service providers, noting that much of the infrastructure exploited by terrorist groups was privately owned.
In his remarks, the NSA, represented by the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Maj-Gen. Adamu Laka, said terrorist groups were using digital platforms to spread propaganda, radicalise potential recruits, raise funds and coordinate operations across borders.
He warned that the growing use of AI, drones and virtual assets had added new dimensions to the security challenges facing Nigeria and other countries in the region.
“Emerging technologies add further complexity: Artificial Intelligence can rapidly produce personalised content; drones and autonomous systems can expand operational capabilities; and virtual assets can create new financing channels. We must therefore strengthen our ability to anticipate, detect, analyse and disrupt threats before they materialise,” he said.
Ribadu said the response required more than acquiring sophisticated equipment, stressing the need to develop technical expertise, strengthen institutions and improve cooperation among security agencies.
The NSA also called for increased cross-border intelligence sharing and timely exchange of actionable cyber threat information among West African and Sahelian countries.
“Nigeria recognises that no institution, country or sector can defeat terrorism alone,” he said.
He added that Nigeria was working with the African Union Counter-Terrorism Centre to secure accreditation for the National Counter Terrorism Centre as a regional centre of excellence for counterterrorism in West Africa and the Sahel.
He said the initiative followed President Bola Tinubu’s declaration at the High-Level Africa Counterterrorism Summit held in April 2024.
The three-day conference brought together participants from West Africa and the Sahel, alongside representatives of the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the Multinational Joint Task Force, regional intelligence structures and international organisations.