Now that Islamic State has been defeated in Syria, analysts are warning about the rise of Jihadist groups in West Africa. One of the most successful organizations in the region is an off-shoot of ISIS known as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). ISWAP is mainly active in the

Tomorrow, Nigeria goes to the polls to elect a new President after a long and messy campaign season plagued by fake news stories. From fabricated endorsements to re-used violent images attached to new false narratives, fake news has spread across different social media platforms and been viewed by millions of

Over the past 6 months and through peak tensions in the U.S.-China trade war, the U.S. cooperated with China and several other countries to remove enriched, weapons-grade uranium out of Nigeria at risk of theft by terror groups or other malicious actors. While the facility did not contain enough of

“Islamic extremists in Nigeria have begun using drones, the country’s president says, opening a worrying new front in the region’s nearly decade-long fight against Boko Haram and an offshoot linked to the Islamic State. President Muhammadu Buhari announced the development during a meeting on Thursday of countries that contribute troops

“An internet traffic diversion that rerouted data through Russia and China disrupted Google services on Monday, including search, cloud-hosting services and its bundle of collaboration tools for businesses. Service interruptions lasted for nearly two hours and ended about 5:30 p.m. EST., network service companies said. In addition to Russian and

11 crew members were seized from their vessel off the coast of Nigeria. The pirates have taken them to an unknown location, and the company has stated that it is working with the local authorities to secure the release of the crew. While piracy off the horn of African became

A recent publication from the Institute for Security Studies has examined the role that women have played in West Africa’s violent extremist groups. Ranging from their abduction and use as a tool to entice men to join extremist ranks to willing participators in activities from operations and suicide attacks, their

“Pirates kidnapped 12 crew members from a Swiss merchant vessel on Saturday in Nigerian waters, the ship’s operator said in a statement,” highlighting the ongoing threat of piracy in the area. While piracy off of the horn of Africa has largely been eradicated through successful policing and responses, piracy and

An increase in Boko Haram violence and tactics in Nigeria has been linked to a power grab by hardline members of the groups leadership, who have allegedly killed the group’s de facto leader some weeks ago due to his moderate stances. This faction had allied itself with ISIS and has

Underscoring the ongoing lethality of the group even against traditional military targets, Boko Haram attacked and overran a military base in northeastern Nigeria, killing at least 48 Nigerian soldiers. The Nigerian government has repeatedly claimed the “defeat” of the group. The militants suffered unknown losses as they overtook and then