Nigerian authorities have launched a review of the national anti-terrorism strategy to handle the arising threats, in response to a warning from Nigeria’s National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC). The center warns that terrorist outfits are getting more sophisticated — utilizing new technologies and manipulating political and economic grievances to develop their operations. 

In 2014, the first official anti-terror strategy document was developed and modified two years later. Authorities express this latest revision is required to echo evolving security threats and assure counterterrorism efforts remain effective.

“The tactics used by non-state actors keep evolving and have become highly unpredictable,”

stated Major General Adamu Garba Laka, the national coordinator of the Counter Terrorism Center.

“Nigeria is grappling with the challenges of insecurity, thanks to the efforts made by personnel and agencies in charge of securing the lives of citizens, which has ensured the decline in the number of such incidences.”

The reexamination comes three months after Nigerian authorities cautioned that a new terror outfit, Lakurawa, has appeared in the northwest region. Authorities state terrorist organizations are increasingly utilizing advanced technology. It included encrypted messaging apps, social media recruitment movements, and drones — to improve their operations.

They also manipulate poverty, political grievances and frail law enforcement in remote regions to compel fighters and disseminate their ideology. Laka stated the updated strategy will redefine the functions of government agencies engaged in counterterrorism efforts.

For more than a decade, Nigeria has struggled to constrain violence from terrorist outfits. It included Boko Haram and its outgrowth, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

From 2009, more than 35,000 people have lost their lives. Around 2 million have been displaced. However, the overall stats of terrorism-related deaths have dropped in recent years. Threats continue because of continued poverty and poor management.

The continent of Africa has become the global epicenter of terrorism. It accounted for the most elevated number of terror-related deaths in 2023. Last April, Nigeria arranged the African Counter-Terrorism Summit. It brought together hundreds of professionals and policymakers to create a continent-wide strategy against terror outfits..