Terrorists Are Using Social Media, Crypto to Recruit – Officials

Nigeria’s National Security Adviser and the African Union Counter-Terrorism Centre have warned that terrorist groups are increasingly using social media, cryptocurrencies and emerging technologies to recruit members, conceal funds and coordinate attacks across West Africa and the Sahel.

The warning was issued on Tuesday in Abuja at a three-day regional training conference on detecting and disrupting the exploitation of information and communication technologies by terrorist groups.

Acting Director of the AU Counter-Terrorism Centre, Idriss Lalalli, said organisations including the Islamic State West Africa Province, Boko Haram and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin were expanding their activities through digital tools.

“Across West Africa and the Sahel today, ISWAP, Boko Haram and JNIM are extending their reach through technology. They recruit on social media platforms, move and conceal funds via mobile money, gift cards and cryptocurrencies,” Lalalli said.

“They buy weapons on darknet marketplaces, communicate over satellite links beyond our networks, and fly drones across borders, using artificial intelligence to tailor propaganda and evade detection.”

He said the speed and low cost of digital tools allowed cells to reach wider audiences and move faster than security agencies could respond.

“What makes this difficult is speed and cost. A cell with a modest budget can now reach audiences far beyond its physical presence and move faster than our procedures can respond.

“The capability to counter it remains thinly and unevenly distributed across our Member States,” he said.

Lalalli said the capacity gap could be addressed through specialised training, regional coordination and stronger collaboration with private-sector operators.

He said the programme would equip participants with skills in cyber threat intelligence, open-source intelligence, digital forensics and blockchain analysis to track online recruitment networks, preserve digital evidence and trace cryptocurrency transactions.

The AU official called for stronger partnerships with social media companies, telecommunications operators and financial service providers, noting much of the infrastructure exploited by terrorist groups was privately owned.

NSA warns of new complexities

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, represented by the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Major-General Adamu Laka, said terrorist groups were using digital platforms to spread propaganda, radicalise recruits, raise funds and coordinate cross-border operations.

“Emerging technologies add further complexity: Artificial Intelligence can rapidly produce personalised content; drones and autonomous systems can expand operational capabilities; and virtual assets can create new financing channels,” he said.

“We must therefore strengthen our ability to anticipate, detect, analyse and disrupt threats before they materialise.”

Ribadu said the response required more than acquiring sophisticated equipment, stressing the need to develop technical expertise, strengthen institutions and improve cooperation among security agencies.

He called for increased cross-border intelligence sharing among West African and Sahelian countries.

“Nigeria recognises that no institution, country or sector can defeat terrorism alone,” he said.

Ribadu said Nigeria was working with the AU Counter-Terrorism Centre to secure accreditation for the National Counter Terrorism Centre as a regional centre of excellence for counterterrorism in West Africa and the Sahel.