Nigeria has urged the African Union (AU) to strengthen efforts to curb illicit financial flows that continue to finance terrorism and violent extremism across Africa, warning that cutting off terrorist funding is critical to restoring peace and stability on the continent.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, made the call during the 1354th Ministerial Meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC), held virtually on Tuesday.
According to a statement issued by her Special Assistant on Communication and New Media, Dr. Magnus Eze, the minister said terrorist groups were increasingly exploiting illicit funds to recruit young people, acquire sophisticated weapons and sustain their operations across the continent.
She urged the AU Peace and Security Council to champion stronger international collaboration in tracing, recovering and returning proceeds of illicit financial flows from safe havens to their countries of origin.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu observed that terrorist organisations had become more adaptive, deploying commercially available technologies, including drones and digital platforms, while financing their activities through kidnapping for ransom and illegal exploitation of mineral resources in areas under their control.
Reaffirming Nigeria's condemnation of terrorism and violent extremism in all forms, the minister expressed solidarity with victims of terrorist attacks across Africa and commended the sacrifices of security personnel engaged in counter-terrorism operations.
She noted that the worsening security situation in parts of West Africa had been exploited by military juntas as justification for unconstitutional seizures of power, stressing that the AU must intensify efforts to reverse the trend.
The minister called on African leaders to implement commitments reached at the 2022 Malabo Extraordinary Summit on Counter-Terrorism and the resolutions adopted during the High-Level African Counter-Terrorism Meeting hosted by Nigeria in Abuja in 2024.
She also cautioned against labelling Africa as the global epicentre of terrorism, arguing that such narratives could expose innocent Africans to discrimination, profiling and unfair treatment while travelling abroad.
Highlighting Nigeria's achievements, Odumegwu-Ojukwu said the country's counter-terrorism strategy integrates military operations with deradicalisation programmes, rehabilitation and reintegration initiatives, intelligence-led operations and socio-economic interventions aimed at addressing the root causes of extremism.
She said Nigeria was strengthening cooperation with neighbouring countries through the ECOWAS Regional Counter-Terrorism Strategy, enhanced intelligence sharing, improved border security and the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which she described as a model for regional security collaboration.
The minister further advocated stronger cybersecurity measures, improved early warning systems, disruption of terrorist financing networks and the development of continental guidelines for the ethical use of artificial intelligence in preventing terrorism and violent extremism.
She also appealed to international partners to demonstrate zero tolerance for terrorism by preventing non-state actors from accessing arms, ammunition, drones, dual-use goods and other advanced technologies that fuel terrorist activities in Africa.
The virtual meeting was chaired by Uganda's Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Haruna Kasolo, in his capacity as Chairperson of the AU Peace and Security Council for July 2026.