The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) has called for renewed national and community driven action to tackle the evolving threats of violent extremism across Nigeria and the Sahel.
Delivering the keynote address at the maiden National Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) Summit in Abuja on Tuesday, the National Coordinator of NCTC, Major General AG Laka represented by Commodore Ahmed Abubakar Madawaki said extremist groups were increasingly adaptive, blending ideology with criminal networks, exploiting local grievances, and leveraging digital platforms to recruit and mobilize.
According to him, violent extremism in Nigeria presents multiple overlapping challenges. While the North-East continues to grapple with insurgency and humanitarian crises, the North-West is plagued by banditry and criminal networks. Other regions face local conflicts driven by land disputes, identity, and livelihoods, all of which are being infiltrated by extremist narratives.
“The rise of online radicalization means geography no longer constrains influence,” he noted. “Prevention must therefore be local, contextual, and multi-dimensional, while security responses must remain rights respecting and coordinated.”
General Laka said the NCTC had adopted a balanced approach, combining operational responses with prevention, resilience-building, and rule-of-law principles. Central to this strategy is the revised Policy Framework and National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PF-NAP), which elevates prevention and community engagement as key priorities.
He outlined three core objectives of the NCTC’s efforts: strengthening institutional coordination, supporting state and community level adoption of the PF-NAP, and deepening partnerships with civil society, development partners, and communities.
The Coordinator also pointed to the establishment of the PCVE Knowledge, Innovation and Resource Hub (KIRH), which has become a central repository for research, tools, and training, as a major step forward. Several states, he added, are already working on developing localized PCVE Action Plans to translate national policy into community-focused solutions.
However, he acknowledged lingering challenges, including institutional fragmentation, limited funding at the subnational level, expanding digital threats, and the complexities of rehabilitation and reintegration programmes.
Calling for practical commitments, he urged ministries and agencies to take immediate, time-bound actions to integrate PCVE into their work, while encouraging states to accelerate domestication of the PF-NAP. He also pressed for investment in community owned rehabilitation and livelihood initiatives, including green recovery and agroforestry projects.
“Violent extremism will not be solved by any one institution acting alone. It is a collective endeavour that demands clarity of policy, rigor of evidence, and humility to learn from communities that are the first line of defence,” he said.
The summit, convened by the PCVE Knowledge, Innovation and Resource Hub in partnership with the PAVE Network and with NCTC’s support, brought together government agencies, civil society, development partners, and international organizations.
Declaring the summit open on behalf of the National Coordinator, Commodore Madawaki urged participants to move beyond dialogue to measurable action, stressing the need for accountability, innovation, and stronger whole-of-society responses to violent extremism.