The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, has said that the recent withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali from the Economic Community of West African States has significantly increased the security burden on Nigeria’s military.
Speaking at the first-quarter meeting with branch chiefs, air officers commanding, and commanders on Wednesday in Abuja, Abubakar noted that the withdrawal had disrupted regional security frameworks, particularly affecting the Multinational Joint Task Force.
“The recent withdrawal of the Alliance of Sahel States from ECOWAS has disrupted existing security frameworks. This development has direct implications for the MNJTF, which has played a crucial role in countering Boko Haram and ISWAP across Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon,” he said.
He warned that with Chad also considering withdrawal, the MNJTF’s capacity to conduct joint operations would be further weakened, placing greater responsibility on Nigeria’s military.
Abubakar stressed the need for a more robust, agile, and adaptive response from the Nigerian Air Force to fill the security gaps left by the departing states.
“With these states opting out and Chad considering withdrawal, the MNJTF’s capacity to conduct joint operations is now significantly affected. As a result, the burden on the Armed Forces of Nigeria to support the MNJTF will increase, demanding a more robust, agile, and adaptive response from the Nigerian Air Force.
“Strengthening operational readiness, enhancing inter-agency coordination, and leveraging advanced air power will be critical in mitigating these evolving threats as we progress through 2025,” he added.
The Air Chief also highlighted the growing threat posed by extremist groups in the Sahel, warning that Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists were exploiting weak governance structures to expand their influence.
He pointed out that porous borders in the Lake Chad Basin had enabled these groups to sustain their activities, posing a persistent threat to regional stability.
“West Africa’s security landscape in 2024 remained highly complex. The Sahel region continued to be a hotspot for terrorism and insurgency, with extremist groups taking advantage of weak governance. In the Lake Chad Basin, porous borders have allowed these elements to persist, threatening regional stability,” Abubakar stated.
He also noted that maritime crimes in the Gulf of Guinea, including piracy and illegal oil bunkering, required increased aerial surveillance and regional cooperation to bolster security.
On Nigeria’s internal security, Abubakar commended the progress made in counterinsurgency operations in the North-East and North-West in 2024, citing improved collaboration between the Air Force and ground troops.
However, he warned of emerging threats, including the rise of the Lakurawa group in the North-West and renewed Boko Haram attacks in the North-East.
“A significant incident in 2024 was the use of drones carrying locally fabricated grenades in a kamikaze role by Boko Haram terrorists to attack our troops in Wajiroko, Damboa LGA. This highlights the growing efforts by terrorists to adopt drone attack technology,” he revealed.
To counter this, he emphasised the need for a comprehensive anti-drone defense system to protect military personnel and assets.
“It is critical to implement a comprehensive and integrated counter-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system to safeguard our troops and air assets,” he added.
Abubakar noted improved security in the South-East, where secessionist attacks had reduced following military operations and the arrest of Simon Ekpa in Finland.
Similarly, he highlighted successes in the South-South, where sustained aerial surveillance and reconnaissance under Operation Delta Safe had significantly curtailed crude oil theft and illegal bunkering.
“As a result of our joint efforts, Nigeria’s production of crude oil and condensates rose in the last quarter of 2024 by over 13 percent above the 1.5 million barrels per day output for the same period in 2023,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Maj. Gen. Adamu Laka, raised concerns over the growing confidence of terrorist groups, warning that their recent successes had emboldened them to expand operations into coastal West Africa, including Benin Republic.
Speaking at the Regional Seminar on Strengthening Capacities for the Implementation of the Accra Initiative, Laka warned that terrorist groups were increasingly targeting West African coastal states.
“As member countries faced increased threats and attacks from extremists across the northern borders, the need for a stronger security mechanism became even more imperative.
“The successes recorded by these terrorists have further emboldened their operational capabilities with their attempted expansion towards coastal West African countries such as Benin Republic,” Laka said.
He stressed that terrorism and transnational crimes thrive in ungoverned spaces and porous borders, calling for stronger regional security cooperation.
”No nation can solely combat this menace, as it transcends national borders. This is evident in the tri-border region of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
“We must strengthen synergy among concerned nations to prevent the southward expansion of terrorism,”* he emphasized.
Echoing similar concerns, the Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Maj. Gen. Richard Gyane, warned that terrorist activities in the Sahel had surged dramatically between 2007 and 2023.
According to Gyane, West Africa accounted for just one percent of global terrorism-related deaths in 2007, but by 2023, the figure had skyrocketed to 43 percent.
He revealed that extremist groups had expanded from Mali into Burkina Faso, and now account for 58 percent of all violent extremist attacks in the Sahel.
“Such activities are gradually spreading to littoral countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Togo, raising concerns about their potential expansion towards Ghana,” he warned.
He further noted that terrorist expansion is being fueled by organized crime, including arms trafficking, human smuggling, and illicit trade in natural resources such as oil, precious metals, and timber.
