National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and the African Union Counter-Terrorism Centre have warned that terrorist groups are increasingly exploiting digital platforms and emerging technologies to recruit members, finance operations and coordinate attacks across West Africa and the Sahel.

The warning was delivered in Abuja on Tuesday at a three-day regional training conference focused on detecting and disrupting terrorists’ use of information and communication technologies.

Ribadu, who was represented by the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Major General Adamu Laka, said terrorist groups were using social media and other digital platforms to spread propaganda, radicalise potential recruits, raise funds and coordinate cross-border operations.

He said the growing use of artificial intelligence, drones and virtual assets had introduced additional challenges for security agencies in Nigeria and other countries in the region.

According to him, addressing the threats would require more than the acquisition of advanced equipment. He stressed the need to develop technical expertise, strengthen institutions and improve cooperation among security agencies.

Ribadu also called for greater cross-border intelligence sharing and the timely exchange of actionable cyber threat information among countries in West Africa and the Sahel.

He said Nigeria was working with the African Union Counter-Terrorism Centre to secure accreditation for the National Counter Terrorism Centre as a regional centre of excellence for counterterrorism in the two regions. The initiative followed President Bola Tinubu’s declaration at the High-Level Africa Counterterrorism Summit in April 2024.

The Acting Director of the AU Counter-Terrorism Centre, Idriss Lalalli, said groups including the Islamic State West Africa Province, Boko Haram and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin were expanding their activities through digital technologies.

Lalalli said the groups used social media for recruitment, mobile money, gift cards and cryptocurrencies to move funds, and darknet marketplaces to acquire weapons. He also identified satellite communications, drones and artificial intelligence-generated propaganda as tools being used to extend their reach and evade detection.

He warned that the speed and relatively low cost of digital technology allowed terrorist cells to reach wider audiences and move faster than security agencies could respond.

Lalalli said the training programme would equip participants with skills in cyber threat intelligence, open-source intelligence, digital forensics and blockchain analysis. These capabilities would help investigators track online recruitment networks, preserve digital evidence and trace cryptocurrency transactions.

He also called for stronger partnerships with social media companies, telecommunications operators and financial service providers, noting that much of the infrastructure exploited by terrorist groups was privately owned.

The conference brought together participants from West Africa and the Sahel, alongside representatives of the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the Multinational Joint Task Force, regional intelligence structures and international organisations.