The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has called for stronger African-led counter-terrorism cooperation, intelligence sharing and responsible use of emerging technologies to tackle terrorism and related crimes across the continent.
The UNODC Country Representative, Cheikh Toure, made the call on Monday at the opening of the High-Level African Lessons Learned Forum on Counter-Terrorism Cooperation, Intelligence Sharing and Emerging Technologies, organised by the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) in Abuja.
Toure said counter-terrorism efforts must remain focused on protecting people affected by violence, including farmers unable to access their fields, children whose education had been disrupted and security personnel operating under difficult conditions.
He noted that terrorism had expanded across Africa beyond earlier expectations, with the Sahel accounting for more than half of terrorism-related deaths worldwide.
According to him, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were among five countries responsible for nearly 70 per cent of the global terrorism-related death toll recorded in the previous year.
He described African counter-terrorism practitioners as among the world’s most experienced, given the scale and complexity of the threats they confront.
Toure warned that foreign terrorist fighters continued to move across regions, while terrorist groups collaborated with organised criminal networks. He also cited the growing use of improvised explosive devices, drones, digital content and artificial intelligence to threaten vulnerable communities.
“The groups we confront cross borders with a fluency that too often exceeds our own. Our response must be equally fluent and it must be African-led,” he said.
The UNODC representative cautioned African countries against adopting international counter-terrorism practices without adapting them to local institutional capacities and operational realities.
He argued that procedures developed for well-resourced security systems could become burdensome when transferred without adjustment to countries facing different challenges.
He therefore urged African institutions to use international best practices as reference points rather than rigid templates.
Toure commended the NCTC, under the leadership of its National Coordinator, Major General Adamu Garba Laka, for adapting international guidance to Nigeria’s security environment.
He said the centre’s Strategic Plan 2025–2030 provided a framework for translating recommendations on evidence management, intelligence analysis, rehabilitation and reintegration into practical procedures for frontline personnel.
“That is not imitation. That is authorship,” he said.
He also urged security institutions to systematically document lessons from investigations, criminal cases and community engagement, using the findings to improve training, standard operating procedures and technology deployment.
Toure described the process as the development of a “living knowledge bank”, noting that Nigeria had made significant contributions to the effort.
He cited Nigeria’s National Strategy for Combating Organised Crime 2027–2031, launched by the National Security Adviser in August and developed under the Office of the National Security Adviser with technical support from UNODC.
According to him, the strategy recognises the connections between terrorism, trafficking and illicit financial flows, treating them as components of an interconnected criminal ecosystem.
He added that UNODC was working with the NCTC on a fusion-cell architecture designed to make intelligence sharing among security agencies routine rather than exceptional.
On terrorist financing, Toure disclosed that the NCTC and UNODC had inaugurated a working group on criminal and terrorist financing in the mineral sector to address channels through which terrorist organisations could obtain funds.
He also cited Nigeria’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force grey list as evidence of the benefits of disciplined, evidence-based cooperation. He said Nigeria had offered to share its experience with other African countries.
The UNODC representative further highlighted collaboration between the centre and UNODC experts to refine a toolkit for first responders handling sexual and gender-based violence associated with terrorism.
He said such initiatives demonstrated that effective partnerships depended on sustained technical engagement rather than public ceremonies.
Addressing participants from the Sahel and Francophone Africa in French, Toure stressed that terrorism transcended linguistic and national boundaries, requiring cooperation that reflected the regional nature of the threat.
He assured participants that UNODC would continue supporting their efforts through consistent engagement and collaboration.
Toure said the agency would work within existing African frameworks, including the African Union, ECOWAS and the Abuja Process, rather than operating independently of them.
He also pledged continued support for institutions such as the NCTC to strengthen their capacity and enable them to become regional centres of reference.
The UNODC representative maintained that respect for human rights was essential to sustainable counter-terrorism operations, describing rights-based approaches as the more effective long-term option.
“Africa has much to teach the world about this threat. For the next two days, we are all here to learn,” he said.
The forum was attended by the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Major General Adamu Garba Laka; members of the diplomatic community; representatives of partner institutions; the European Union; and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism.
Toure expressed appreciation to Ribadu and the NCTC leadership for convening the forum, as well as the European Union and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism for supporting the Federal Government’s efforts.
He said the collective objective was to strengthen cooperation and contribute to a safer Africa for all its people.
