By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
The Coordinator, Nigeria’s National Counter-terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Major General Adamu G. Laka, has affirmed that the CT Tech+ Initiative instituted by the centre in conjunction with European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) counterparts in 2024 seeks to curb the perversive use of the ultra-modern technologies by terrorists and other armed criminals to perpetrate their inhuman acts.
General Laka made the explanation while declaring open the ongoing 2-day CT Tech Workshop at the NCTC complex of the Office of the National Security Adviser on Thursday in Abuja.
The NCTC coordinator said, “On behalf of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, mni, I wish to express sincere appreciation to our partners and sponsors the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism, the United Nations Counter Terrorism Centre, INTERPOL, and the European Union for their steadfast collaboration and continued support under the CT TECH+ Initiative.
“For the benefit of our participants, Let me briefly highlight that the CT TECH+ is a 2-year joint initiative of the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism, United Nations Counter Terrorism Centre, and INTERPOL, funded by the European Union. It seeks to support selected partner states in strengthening law enforcement capabilities to counter the misuse of new and emerging technologies by terrorists.
“The programme focuses on enhancing national policy, legal frameworks, institutional preparedness, and international cooperation while fully respecting human rights, the rule of law, and gender responsiveness.”
He also highlighted the twin principles based on which the Nigerian counter-terrorism centre has continued to drive its mandate.
Laka said, “Let me quickly mention here that at the National Counter Terrorism Centre, we continue to drive our mandate through 2 foundational pillars: the Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society approaches. These principles are embedded in the design and delivery of this workshop. Indeed, today’s gathering exemplifies this approach by bringing together key government stakeholders to confront the growing threats posed by the misuse of technology.”
He said participants at the workshop, were carefully selected based on recommendations by the centre’s development partners, to ensure broad representation from policymakers, the Services, law enforcement, cybersecurity agencies, criminal justice actors, regulators, and academia, which according to him also aligns with the centre’s own approach to counterterrorism.
“This deliberate mix reflects Nigeria’s longstanding commitment to inclusive and multi-sectoral collaboration in strengthening our collective response capabilities. Therefore, your roles as policy shapers, operational leaders, and subject matter experts are critical to this workshop, and to the sustained success of our national counterterrorism efforts,” General Laka said.
He urged participants to approach the sessions with open minds, active engagement, and a shared commitment to bridging identified gaps in our national capacity.
Speaking, the Political Officer, Delegation of the EU to Nigeria, Ms Agnieszka Torres de Oliveira who collaborated General Laka’s submissions said the EU is funding the project because it coincides with the priorities of both the union and Nigeria, with your priorities, Nigeria’s priorities, more generally, and the EU priorities.
She said, “Like General Laka mentioned, the EU is funding the project because it coincides with the priorities of both the union and Nigeria, with your priorities, Nigeria’s priorities, more generally, and the EU priorities.
“I heard it from top level people to the very down-to-earth that prosperity and in Nigeria means stability and prosperity in the region, in Africa, and also in Europe. And when you look from reverse side of it, problems in Nigeria, means problems in the region, in Africa and also in Europe. So we work hand in hand on stability and prosperity in Nigeria, counter terrorism being one of our priorities.”
And like General Laka mentioned, we’re also working on promoting human rights, gender awareness, and the rule of law. Both are also, I would say, core values that the EU has been founded on.
She disclosed that the EU is working with Nigeria on several other fronts, including how to deploy non-kinetic measures at best in tackling the emerging threats of terrorism and forms of armed criminality in society.
The EU representative expressed delight over the fruitful collaboration between Nigeria and the City Tech+.
Speaking, Kimairis Leah Too good, the Peace and Development Advisor, Office of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed Malick Fall, in her remarks, expressed an unreserved support for Nigeria in her multi-pronged approach towards a terror-free society.
She said, “the United Nations, of course, has been a long standing partner of the Federal Government of Nigeria. We will remain side by side with the Federal Government of Nigeria, and this endeavor, of course, with our UN counterparts on other programmes mentioned by Agnieszka: Criminal Justice Reform, DDR programming and community resilience initiatives.
“You are a part of that puzzle, an important part of that puzzle, and we really commend you, and we stand behind you to make sure that this programme is a success and your capacities are built effectively.”
Explaining the importance of the workshop, she said, “We also recognise that this will enable the government of Nigeria to strategically prioritise the development of law enforcement capabilities for new technology, and it will pave the way for the roadmap that will be proposed from this workshop that will be finalised in the next round in August.
Expressing delight over the development, she said, “Recognising the challenges that the world is facing, the United Nations General Assembly and its seventh review of the global counterterrorism strategy called on the international community to strengthen the support for member states To counter these threats and leverage opportunities provided by the new technologies. And we’re very happy that CT tech plus initiative, in partnership with the government of Nigeria, is a key counter stone point there in helping us achieve this.”
While commending the transformative potentials for development of emerging technologies, she lamented their perversive use by criminals, necessitating the counter-steps being taken by the global community.
“We know that technological advancement, new and emerging technologies, hold transformative potential for development; things that are positive, including civic engagement, the promotion of human rights.
“However, these are the same technologies that are increasingly exploited by others, which could actually have detrimental impacts,” she noted, adding that the onus was therefore those around the table at the workshop to help come up with very productive and constructive solutions to these technological challenges.