The African Union has accredited Nigeria’s National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) as a Regional Centre of Excellence for Counter Terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel, handing Abuja a broader role in intelligence sharing, training and joint threat analysis.
The AU announced the accreditation on October 27 at the close of the African Lessons Learned Forum in Abuja. The recognition comes as Nigeria confronts deadly violence in Taraba and Benue states, where armed groups continue to exploit porous borders and weak rural security coverage, according to Vanguard.
Acting Director of the African Union Counter Terrorism Centre, Dr Idriss Mounir Lallali, said the decision followed a rigorous review of the NCTC’s governance, training, analytical capacity, coordination mechanisms and commitment to human rights and the rule of law.
The designation has an initial three-year term and is renewable. It gives the NCTC, which operates under the Office of the National Security Adviser, a regional mandate to provide specialized training, technical assistance, research, joint threat assessments and exchanges of lessons learned with AU member states.
The accreditation fulfils President Bola Tinubu’s 2024 pledge to make the NCTC a regional hub for counter-terrorism cooperation. The process began after the AU and NCTC signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2025, followed by a technical assessment mission in Abuja that December.
The new regional mandate was announced days after Nigeria’s Senate demanded a security offensive following an attack on Binnari community in Karim Lamido Local Government Area, Taraba State, on October 23. Lawmakers said about 80 people were killed, although other reports have cited lower and still-changing tolls.
The Senate directed security agencies to establish additional camps and intensify surveillance along the borders of Taraba, Plateau and Bauchi states, while calling on NEMA and the North-East Development Commission to deliver emergency relief.
Attackers reportedly opened fire shortly after Jumu’ah prayers, looted food and shops, and set properties ablaze. They were suspected to have crossed into Taraba from Plateau State, underscoring the cross-border security challenge the NCTC’s new role is intended to address.
In north-central Benue State, the army said troops repelled an attack by gunmen in Guma Local Government Area and recovered two AK-47 rifles, magazines, mobile phones and livestock. The incident followed attacks earlier in October that killed at least nine people in Benue’s Mbatian and Mbazum districts, amid a wider rise in kidnappings and banditry across the north-central region.
