Nigeria And AU Warn Of Terrorist Use Of AI

Nigerian and African Union security officials have warned that armed groups operating across West Africa and the Sahel are adding artificial intelligence, drones and digital financial tools to established methods of recruitment, propaganda and cross-border coordination.

The warning was delivered at a three-day regional training conference in Abuja focused on detecting and disrupting the exploitation of information and communications technology by terrorist organisations. Punch reported that the meeting included participants from West Africa and the Sahel, the African Union, ECOWAS and regional security structures.

Nigeria's National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was represented by Major General Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the country's counterterrorism centre. His message was that emerging technology expands the speed and reach of a threat that already uses social media, encrypted communication and digital finance.

African Union Counter-Terrorism Centre acting director Idriss Lalalli pointed to the use of online platforms for recruitment, mobile money and cryptocurrency for moving funds, and drones for cross-border activity. He also warned that generative AI can tailor propaganda to particular audiences and help hostile networks operate at lower cost.

These claims require careful interpretation. AI is not replacing the political, economic and security conditions in which violent groups operate. It is reducing the time and expertise needed to produce convincing media, adapt messages, analyse public information or automate parts of an online campaign. That can make an existing network more scalable without making it technologically sophisticated in every part of its operation.

The response cannot rely on indiscriminate surveillance. Regional security agencies need lawful investigative capacity, but broad monitoring of citizens can undermine rights and public trust while producing large volumes of weak intelligence. Technical capability must be matched by judicial oversight, evidence standards, data-protection rules and clear limits on how automated assessments are used.

The conference is training participants in cyber-threat intelligence, open-source investigation, digital forensics and blockchain analysis. Those capabilities can help agencies preserve evidence and trace networks, but their value depends on cooperation across borders and on whether investigations can support credible prosecutions rather than remain isolated technical exercises.

Regional agencies also need a shared way to verify technology-related claims. Public warnings can quickly become inflated when every edited video or automated account is described as advanced AI. A common incident-classification framework would help officials communicate accurately, compare cases across countries and direct scarce specialist resources toward the threats with the greatest demonstrated impact.

Private companies also have a role because social platforms, telecommunications networks and financial services own much of the infrastructure being misused. Cooperation mechanisms should allow urgent action while protecting due process and avoiding informal arrangements that are impossible for the public to scrutinise.

Africa's institutional response to AI security is still developing. The African Hub on AI Safety, Peace and Security at the University of Cape Town reflects a parallel effort to build research and policy capacity around technology-related risks. Operational agencies need access to that wider expertise, including researchers who can test claims and distinguish genuine capability from hype.

The Abuja warning is therefore best read as a capacity signal, not evidence that every armed group has advanced AI systems. The practical task is to improve regional intelligence sharing, train investigators, preserve rights and monitor how low-cost digital tools alter established threats.

Source: Punch Newspapers.