NBC: Stronger Border Cooperation Needed to Tackle Africa’s Security Threats
*Adaji seeks joint action against terrorism, banditry, others
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The National Boundary Commission (NBC) has called for stronger cooperation among African governments, academia, border communities and development partners to tackle growing security and governance challenges across the continent’s borderlands.
The Director General of the NBC, Adamu Adaji, made the call at the opening of the 2026 International Conference of the African Borderlands Research Network (ABORNE) in Lagos, a statement by the NBC spokesperson, Chinwe Udouwem, said yesterday.
The conference, which holds from August 24 to 28, is themed: “The Connected Borderlands, Socio-Cultural Integration, and the Centrality of Policy, Research, and Security.”
Adaji described borderlands as strategic zones of interaction, cooperation, opportunity and, at times, contestation, stressing that their effective management required more than physical infrastructure and security measures.
He said border governance must be supported by rigorous research and evidence-based policies, given the growing intersection of security, trade, migration, environmental sustainability, identity, citizenship and regional integration along Africa’s borders.
“The effective management of these borders requires not only physical infrastructure and security measures but also informed policies grounded in rigorous research and evidence-based analysis,” he said.
The NBC, a major partner of the conference, also participated in a plenary roundtable titled, “Frontiers: Border Demarcation, Maritime Governance and Cross-Border Cooperation in a Changing Security Landscape.”
The session featured Adaji; the Director, Maritime Boundaries, NBC, Nurudeen Abba; Head, Cross-Border Cooperation, NBC, Dr Farouk Tarfa; and the Force Commander, Multi-National Maritime Task Force in the Gulf of Guinea, Commodore M. S. Shettima. It was moderated by Dr Willie Eselebor of ABORNE.
The discussions examined challenges surrounding boundary delimitation, transboundary security and maritime governance, particularly terrorism, banditry, arms trafficking, irregular migration, smuggling and maritime insecurity.
Adaji said the scale and complexity of the challenges required closer coordination among relevant stakeholders.
“Sustainable solutions to border challenges require strong collaboration between governments, academia, border communities and development partners,” he said.
He added that African countries must rethink border governance beyond the traditional emphasis on territorial control.
“The challenge before us therefore is not merely how to secure borders, but how to govern them in ways that balance sovereignty with cooperation, security with mobility, and national interests with regional aspirations,” he said.
ABORNE is an interdisciplinary network established in 2007 to advance research on international borders, borderlands and transboundary phenomena across Africa, while promoting policy engagement on border and borderland issues.
The conference is being co-hosted by Lagos State University and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), with the NBC, Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA), National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS) and Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) among the participating partner institutions.