The commandant of the National Defence College (NDC), Rear Adm. Olumuyiwa Olotu, has stressed the need to enhance stakeholders’ capacity to counter terrorism financing efforts to address national security challenges.

Mr Olotu stated this at the inauguration of Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Regional Security Course 1/2025, organised by the NDC’s Centre for Strategic Research and Studies (CSRS), on Monday in Abuja.

He said Nigeria was at a critical time when the scourge of terrorism ravaged the national, regional and global security environment.

According to him, this threat continues to pose significant challenges to governments and the international community, particularly in West Africa and the Sahel region.

”Unfortunately, research has shown that one of the most resilient enablers of terrorism is the complex and often clandestine network of financing mechanisms that fuel extremist recruitment, logistics, operations and expansion.

”Thus, countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) is not just a financial or legal obligation, but also a vital component of our broader national and regional security strategy,” Mr Olotu said.

He noted that the course presented a unique opportunity to show Nigeria’s commitment to building the capacity of her armed forces and security agencies, intelligence community, law enforcement agencies, and counterparts in relevant MDAs.

The commandant urged participants from the public and private sectors, including financial institutions, to collaborate to tackle the menace of terrorism financing in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.

According to him, this course marks a significant milestone in the collective effort to strengthen national, regional, and global counter-terrorism strategies, particularly in countering financing of terrorism (CFT).

In his remarks, the provost of CSRS, Adams Ahmed, said the course was in the realisation that terrorism had evolved into transnational crime intertwined with organised crime, illicit financial flows, cyber threats, and regional instability.

Mr Ahmed said the ability of terrorist networks to fund their operations had remained a critical driver of their continued existence.

He said that disrupting these financial lifelines is strategic for national security in Nigeria and regional security in West Africa and the Sahel.

Mr Ahmed added that terrorist groups like Boko Haram, Islamic States for West African Province (ISWAP), Al-Qaida and others had been exploiting diverse funding channels.

He said some of the channels range from kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining to new financial technologies and informal transfer systems.

”These activities not only finance terror but also erode our governance, cripple our economies, and threaten the very fabric of our societies.

”It is imperative to state that the capacity of terrorist organisations to recruit, equip, and conduct operations is intrinsically linked to their ability to generate, store, and transfer resources, often beyond the reach of conventional counter-terrorism measures,’’ he said.

The provost emphasised the need for the active participation of commercial banks and their executives in the efforts to block the funding of terrorism in Nigeria and the region to weaken their activities.

(NAN)