The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has called for development of effective mechanisms to enhance the ability to prevent and counter the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by terrorist groups in West Africa.
Ribadu made the call at the opening of the Stakeholders meeting on Consolidating Collaborative Efforts to Prevent and Counter the Acquisition and Use of IED by Terrorist Group in West Africa, on Tuesday in Abuja.
He was represented by Mohammed Sanusi, Permanent Secretary, Special Services, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), at the event organised by the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF).
Ribadu said that the threat of terrorism knows no bounds, adding that it was through collaborative efforts by critical stakeholders that they could effectively confront and defeat the menace.
He encouraged participants to actively engage in discussion, get ideas and work towards solutions that would help them on how counter terrorism could affect communities in West Africa.
He commended the partners for their dedication in strengthening their collective efforts in combating terrorism.
“This regional meeting serves as a platform for us to share knowledge, best practice and experiences in addressing the threats of IEDs by bringing together representatives from ministries, departments, and agencies in Nigeria, as well as experts from the West Africa region, member states, and other relevant stakeholders.
“We aim to develop effective mechanisms to enhance our ability to prevent and counter the use of IEDs.
“The recommendations that will emerge from this meeting are vital in sharing and shaping our strategies and initiating to safeguard our communities from IEDs,” he said.
The Ambassador of Algeria to Nigeria, Hocine Mezoued, said that African countries must be able to take adequate measures to make the fight against terrorism effective.
These measures, he said concern not only the prevention and dismantling of IEDs, but also proactive and preventive actions that aim to deconstruct them and seek a provision to promote coordination and cooperation.
He said the measures would also help in adapting to new threats driven by technological progress.
According to him, the use of these explosive devices remains one of the most potent tools used to carry out terrorist attacks in the interior, against the states of West Africa and the countries of the Sahel region.
He called for an integrated approach by combining security measures and initiatives to prevent use of IEDs, and consolidating the sustainable development approach.
“It is also worth recalling, on a broader point, the debate at the United Nations Security Council on the fight against terrorism in Africa.
“It served as an opportunity to raise awareness of the alarming rise of terrorism in Africa and to reaffirm the urgent need to live it in the global interest and to revive international momentum to address this crisis that now threatens security and development in our continent at this time.
“The efforts of our group to strengthen West African capacities take into account local and regional realities and require the reaffirmed commitment of the international community and its determination to combat the use of improvised explosive devices.
“It is in this context that the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 79-53 of 2024, emphasised the importance of training and the implementation of regional strategies,” he said.
The German Ambassador to Nigeria, Annette Gunther, represented by the Head of Political Division, Mathias Dold, said the global trend of weaponising commercial drones tended to jeopardise much of the impressive progress that many countries had made in bringing back stability.
He said the agenda of the meeting was built on the Working Group’s regional meeting of 2023, which emphasised the need to strengthen national and regional counter-IED expertise, disrupt the supply chains of IED components, and turn intelligence into the core of the scientific evidence.
According to him, these insights resulted in the formulation of the Lome Recommendations.
He commended the Government of Nigeria for hosting the event,adding that the German Government and the European Union had continued to support numerous activities that contribute to non-kinetic efforts to preventing and countering violent extremism, such as the integrated border stability mechanisms for West Africa.
He said that Germany had also been supporting the regional stabilisation facility in the Lake Chad region and contributed to counter-IED activity.
“The German Government and the European Union support these initiatives and contribute resources for a simple reason.
“Security and stability in the Lake Chad Basin, in the Sahel, and in West Africa in general, are in our own interest.
“Together with Nigeria and other West African countries, we share a mutual interest in a secure, stable, and prosperous sub-region, a sub-region that is Europe’s immediate neighbour.
“Thus, we believe that a comprehensive approach, under African leadership, accompanied by international support, and based on the rule of law and human rights, is key to successfully addressing the terrorist threat in the region,” he said.
