The Federal Government has identified financial interests as a growing motivation behind terrorist activities in Nigeria’s North-West, arguing that the region’s security crisis can no longer be explained primarily by ideological beliefs.
Maj. Gen. Adamu Laka, National Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), made the observation on Wednesday, October 28, during a policy roundtable in Abuja on efforts to prevent insurgencies from spreading across the North-West and North-Central regions.
Laka said the changing nature of the threat required authorities to look beyond the ideological motivations traditionally associated with terrorism and consider the economic incentives sustaining violence.
“We keep on talking of ideology, ideology. What we have today is no more ideological terrorism; it’s more of economic terrorism. What is happening in the North-West is more economic than ideological,” Laka said.
He also cautioned against relying solely on military operations to tackle insecurity, stressing that sustained progress would require security interventions alongside other measures involving government institutions and relevant stakeholders.
“The National Counter-Terrorism Centre believes that kinetic efforts alone cannot solve the issue of insecurity. It has to be a mixture of both kinetic and non-kinetic,” he said.
According to the counter-terrorism coordinator, the centre is pursuing a coordinated strategy that brings together government agencies and society to address the security threats confronting the country.
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He disclosed that security agencies had recorded gains through joint operations, pointing to an operation conducted in Katsina State in September as one example.
Laka expressed optimism that closer cooperation among security agencies would help improve security and restore normalcy in affected communities.
He said the government was directing greater attention to the North-West and North-Central following what he described as an improved security situation in the North-East.
“We’re making headway. There have been successes in various sectors. You can see the peace that is currently existing. There is a higher level of peace in the Northeast.
“We are facing the Northwest now, [as well as] the North-Central. We should just have more patience and more confidence.
“It’s something that is very dear to the President and Commander-in-Chief and the National Security Adviser, and we’ll do all our best to ensure that peace returns to Nigeria,” he said.
The government’s position highlights the need for a broader response to insecurity, combining security operations with measures aimed at disrupting the financial incentives that sustain armed violence.