Nigeria and the African Union (AU) on Monday emphasized the urgent need for a strategic shift from military-focused operations to preventive approaches in tackling violent extremism in the Lake Chad Basin.
The call was made by Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, National Coordinator of Nigeria’s National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), and Dr. Usman Hussain, Head of Administration at the AU Counter Terrorism Centre (AUCTC), during the opening of the Senior-Level Workshop on the Prevention of Violent Extremism for the Lake Chad Basin States in Abuja.
They warned that terrorist groups continue to expand their reach across Africa despite years of military pressure.
Maj.-Gen. Laka noted that while countries in the region have invested heavily in military, intelligence, and law-enforcement operations, lasting peace could only be achieved by addressing the root causes of extremism.
“Enforcement-heavy strategies alone cannot deliver sustainable peace,” he said. “The drivers of violent extremism—economic, political, social, cultural, and ideological—must be tackled through informed, people-centered preventive approaches.”
He described the workshop as a critical pivot toward prevention, emphasizing human security, dialogue, community resilience, gender inclusion, education, and whole-of-society cooperation.
Highlighting the Lake Chad Basin’s prolonged challenges, Laka noted that for over a decade, the region has endured conflict, mass displacement, organized crime, and severe social disruption. Reversing these trends, he said, requires the preventive approach championed by the AU, ECOWAS, ECCAS, and the UN.
Laka also underscored Nigeria’s achievements through the NCTC, including the National Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE), improved interagency coordination, enhanced data systems, strategic communications, and reintegration programs for former extremists.
He reminded participants that the NCTC was designated a Regional Centre of Excellence for Counterterrorism in West Africa and the Sahel following the 2024 Africa Counter-Terrorism Summit, a recognition that comes with the responsibility to support regional partners through capacity building, policy harmonization, and research-driven initiatives.
Dr. Hussain, speaking on behalf of the AU, described terrorism and violent extremism as “endemic” across Africa and the continent’s most potent security threat. He identified groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Al-Shabaab, along with their affiliates, as widening their operational footprint through cross-border incursions in West, Central, East, and Southern Africa.
“Their operations have created multiple layers of challenges and worsened the present security situation in Africa,” Hussain said.
While praising regional blocs that have developed counter-terrorism strategies, he urged others to accelerate their efforts, citing IGAD’s adoption of Africa’s first regional PCVE strategy as a model to emulate.
He called on participants to “think outside the box” and strengthen synergy among Lake Chad Basin states, emphasizing that sustained gains require coordinated regional action, resource mobilization, and strong institutional cooperation.
Both Nigerian and AU officials urged participants to fully engage in developing a unified, practical roadmap for preventing violent extremism in the Lake Chad Basin.
