Gambari: Over 1,000 insurgency groups operating across Africa

Former Minister of External Affairs and ex-Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, has warned that Africa is contending with more than 1,000 insurgent groups, underscoring the scale of the continent’s security crisis.

Gambari raised the concern in Abuja on Monday while delivering a goodwill message at the African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit 2025, themed “Combating contemporary threats to regional peace and security in Africa: the role of strategic defence collaboration.”

The summit drew defence chiefs from 36 out of Africa’s 54 countries, reflecting the urgency of coordinated responses to insecurity.

Gambari stressed that securing Africa must begin at the national level before expanding to regional and continental frameworks.

He urged countries to strengthen local defence industries, develop indigenous technologies, and design security strategies rooted in human security.

“We have to first secure our countries before we can secure our regions and then the continent.

Securing Nigeria has placed the country at the forefront of regional and continental security. There are over 1,000 insurgency groups operating in Africa,” Gambari said.

He warned that without homegrown solutions, Africa would remain vulnerable to terrorism, violent extremism, and cross-border banditry.

Also at the summit, ECOWAS President, Dr. Omar Touray, painted a grim picture of the Sahel, noting it accounted for 51 per cent of conflict-related deaths in Africa in 2024.

Represented by ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musah, Touray urged greater international burden-sharing, calling on the UN to finance at least 75 per cent of African-led counterterrorism operations.

Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, described Africa’s threats as “borderless and complex,” stressing the need for stronger collaboration among states.

He said the Nigerian Armed Forces remained committed to cross-border cooperation.

“The enemy is within; hence we must be the architect of our defence and security,” Musa said.

The summit highlighted Africa’s ongoing struggle with insurgencies that fragment states, weaken economies, and worsen humanitarian crises.

Stakeholders agreed that only African-led security strategies can provide lasting solutions, while external interventions remain insufficient to match the scale of the threats.