From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
A member of the Nigerian Delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Zainab Gimba, has urged the sub-regional legislative body to intervene in the security of the people.
This followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Gimba at the ongoing First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja.
Gimba called for an urgent resolution to be passed by the parliament to endorse the dialogue that has been opened with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, with a view to reintegrating them into ECOWAS security frameworks to support a collaborative security effort for the acceleration and full operationalization of the Accra Initiative and the ECOWAS Standby Force in line with its 2020-2024 action plan to combat terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel.
Gimba also called for a resolution to be passed to urge ECOWAS member states to commit to improved funding of the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad basin, and the deployment of rapid-response forces to high-risk zones across the Sahel and coastal West Africa, in a bid to counter the threat of terrorism and insurgency into new territories.
She further urged the parliament to strengthen the ECOWAS Early Warning and Response Network (ECOWARN) to anticipate, track and disrupt arms trafficking routes and insurgent migration patterns and pre-empt threats for early mitigation.
According to Gimba, “a resolution be passed for the region to provide more support to the ECOWAS Regional Food and Agricultural Agency to enhance its capacity to support and supplement the food security needs of the region, particularly of those displaced by conflicts, terrorism and violent extremism, and climate effects.”
Earlier, Gimba said it was with a deep sense of urgency and commitment to regional peace and stability that she rose to address the House on a matter of grave concern to Nigeria and to West Africa and the Sahel.
“Mr. Speaker, what concerns me most is not the existence of terrorism and violent extremism alone, it is the rapid escalation of such activities across West Africa, particularly in the wake of the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States.
“Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, allow me to paint a picture of the situation for you to clearly conceptualize my concern. According to the Global Terrorism Index 2024, violent conflict remains the primary driver of terrorism, with over 90 percent of attacks and 98 percent of terrorism deaths in 2023 taking place in countries in conflict. An arrested bandit in Zamfara confirmed that instability in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali not only facilitates their operations, but also provides a direct source of weaponry. That is, however, not the concern.
“My concern, Mr. Speaker, colleague Members, is that, regionally, the impact of terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for just under 59 percent of all fatalities globally; and the Sahel accounted for 19 percent of all terrorist attacks worldwide and 51 percent of global terrorism-related deaths in 2024, an increase from 48 percent in 2023.
“In respect of the Sahel, Mr. Speaker, between July and October 2024, the Armed Conflict Location and Events Data project recorded 1,535 fatalities – including civilians, the military, armed groups and others in Burkina Faso. Additionally, an assault by Jama‘at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) on a defence convoy near Nassougou (Gourma Province, Est Region) on 9 August killed 148 personnel, including another one in Barsalogo (Sanmatenga Province, Central Region) on 24 August killing 200 and injuring 1407.
“In that same country, Islamic State (IS) gunmen killed at least 71 soldiers, injured three, and abducted an unconfirmed number in an ambush on the Oursi and Deou axis, Oudalan province, on 17 February 2024.
“In Niger, Mr. Speaker, the Armed Conflict Location and Events Data recorded 467 fatalities from July to October 2024’, while the United Nations Security Council in its April 2025 Monthly briefings reported that militants of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) attacked the Fambita Mosque in southwestern Niger, killing at least 44 people and setting fire to a market and several homes on 21 March.
“Again, in Mali, Jama‘at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the Cadre stratégique permanent pour la défense du peuple de l’Azawad claimed responsibility for 1,190 fatalities recorded between July and October 2024’.
“Further to my concern, Mr. Speaker, esteemed Members of Parliament, beyond the Sahel, the terrorist and violent extremist threat has progressively spread southward toward coastal West Africa, spilling over into previously unaffected Benin and Togo, who have now witnessed an increase in attacks, particularly, along regions bordering the Central Sahel.
“For the first time in a decade of insurgency across our region, the area in northern Benin came under severe attack by terrorist insurgents and violent extremists. Mr. Speaker, according to UNOWAS, on 24 July 2024, Jama‘at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin claimed an attack at the W National Park, killing seven security personnel and five park rangers. Again, in early January, terrorist attacks claimed by the same Jama‘at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin in northern Benin, near its border with Burkina Faso and Niger, resulted in the deaths of 28 Beninese soldiers.
“In respect of Togo, Mr. Speaker, fellow MPs, on 20 July and 6 August, Jama‘at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin launched attacks that killed 12 soldiers and several others on a military outpost in Kpinkankandi and near Kankanti, respectively. Mr. Speaker, by the end of 2024, a total of ten attacks resulting in 52 deaths, with JNIM claiming responsibility for four of these attacks, which accounted for 41 fatalities.
“The attack, which occurred on April 17, 2025, at the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex, a triborder zone between Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger, highlights the vulnerabilities created by regional fragmentation and the urgent need for cooperative security frameworks.
“Given this background, Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, and knowing the varying nomenclatures and the transnational or multi-border nature under which these terrorist elements operate from Mali to Burkina Faso, traversing Niger, Cameroon, Chad, Benin, Togo, and Nigeria, our response must be equally coordinated, multinational, and resolute,” Gimba stated.