Member of Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Dr. Zainab Gimba, has blamed the rising spate of terrorism and violent extremism in Nigeria, West Africa and the Sahel on the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the ECOWAS bloc.
MP Gimba, from Nigeria, warned that if this threat is not halted, the entire region could be a cesspool of death and destruction, even as she called for more funding for the Multinational Joint Task Force to tackle the matter urgently.
The lawmaker raised this alarm while moving a motion titled, "Strengthening Regional Security Cooperation In Response To The Escalating Threat Of Terrorism And Violent Extremism In West Africa and the Sahel," at the ongoing 2025 First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja.
She said, "It is with a deep sense of urgency and commitment to regional peace and stability that I rise under Rule 87 of our Rules of Procedure to address this august House on a matter of grave concern to Nigeria, my country, 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,
"This is particularly in the wake of the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)."
The lawmaker lamented the grim situation in Northeastern Nigeria following the infiltration of the region by Boko Haram, ISWAP and other foreign terrorists like Caucasian combatants who arrived in January.
She revealed that the terrorists now use advanced, sophisticated weapons and ammunition (drones, chemical agents, among others) that are capable of penetrating armoured vehicles and igniting previously impenetrable metals.
Gimba also disclosed that since March, the terrorists had launched coordinated offensives on communities in Gwoza, Pulka, Buni Gari, Buni Yadi, Alagarno, Damboa, Wajiroko, Sabongari, Gujiba, Wulgo, Rann, Dikwa, Nganzai, Gajibo, Baga, Doron Baga, and Marte.
"They have overrun multiple military battalions, seizing weapons and destroying security installations in Buni Gari, Alagarno, Pulka, Wulgo, Rann, Marte, Wajiroko, and Sabon Gari in just 60 days.
"I have personally, in the company of my state governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, visited some of these areas with military protection, and on May 15, five days before the commencement of this very Session, Boko Haram attacked farming communities near Baga.
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"This resulted in the following casualties: In Dawoshi, 40 farmers were slaughtered; In Malam Karamti, 22 civilians were killed; In Dabar Giwa, 15 individuals were executed," she said.
She pointed out that the terrorists carried out the atrocities as punishment for the non-payment of illegal "taxes" which they imposed on the victims, adding that arrested terrorists in Zamfara confirmed that instability in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali facilitated their operations and provided them with direct sources of weaponry.
According to Gimba, terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for about 59 per cent of all fatalities globally, stressing that the Sahel alone accounted for 19 per cent of all terrorist attacks worldwide and 51 per cent of global terrorism-related deaths in 2024, an increase from 48 per cent in 2023.
Gimba, therefore, made a motion seeking a parliamentary resolution compelling ECOWAS member states to improve the funding of the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad basin.
While also moving a motion for troop deployment to high-risk zones across West Africa and the Sahel, the public intellectual noted that this would stop the spread of terrorists to the coast. She also called the West African institutions to intensify efforts to bring back the three countries that pulled out of the regional bloc.
