Africa can’t win terror war without justice, cooperation – Rights lawyer

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Human rights advocate and Chief Executive Officer of House of Justice, Kaduna, Gloria Ballason, has called on African governments to strengthen regional cooperation, ensure criminal accountability and adopt restorative justice measures to combat violent extremism and guarantee lasting regional stability.

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Ballason, a legal practitioner and peacebuilding expert, warned that the continent’s security would remain under serious threat unless countries in the Sahel and across Africa worked together through coordinated counter-terrorism strategies.

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She stated this while delivering a paper titled, “Terrorism Desistance, Regional Stability and Restorative Justice,” at the Africa Peace Fellows Conference on Restorative Justice and Management of Victims of Violent Extremism in Africa, held on Tuesday 4 August, at the National Defence College, Abuja.

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Reviewing the 2025 Global Terrorism Index, which ranked Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Somalia among Africa’s most terrorism-affected countries, Ballason lamented Nigeria’s worsening security situation despite increased spending on defence.

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According to her, Nigeria’s security budget rose from N1.1tn in 2016 to N5.41tn in 2026, yet violent attacks have continued to spread beyond the North-East to other parts of the country, including the South-West.

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She also cited a National Bureau of Statistics report showing that N2.23tn was paid as ransom between 2023 and 2024, describing insecurity as an increasingly profitable criminal enterprise.

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Ballason further referenced the findings of the Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Armed Forces, which reportedly indicted some former military chiefs over fraudulent arms procurement.

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The human rights advocate decried what she described as a contradiction in Nigeria’s counter-terrorism approach, noting that while policies exist for the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of repentant terrorists, there is no comprehensive framework to rehabilitate, compensate and support victims of terrorism.

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“We have reached a point where human beings are traded and killed in forest markets while the sponsors, perpetrators, instigators and collaborators of violent extremism continue to operate freely,” she said.

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The legal expert maintained that restorative justice should complement, rather than replace, the criminal justice system by ensuring perpetrators are held accountable while victims recover their dignity, livelihoods and psychological well-being.

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She cautioned against equating rehabilitation with amnesty, insisting that individuals responsible for grave terrorist offences must be investigated and prosecuted, while only victims of forced recruitment and carefully screened low-risk participants should be considered for rehabilitation programmes.

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Ballason acknowledged that military operations remain indispensable in degrading terrorist networks but stressed that force alone could not eliminate violent extremism without addressing its root causes, including weak governance, poverty, unemployment, political instability, social exclusion and ideological radicalisation.

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Drawing lessons from Algeria, Mauritania, Tunisia and Colombia, she said countries that had successfully reduced terrorism combined military operations with justice, reconciliation, economic inclusion, institutional reforms and community-based recovery programmes.

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As such, she urged African governments to strengthen intelligence sharing, improve border security, harmonise counter-terrorism laws and deepen collaboration among regional and continental institutions.

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Ballason also challenged governments to adopt measurable indicators for assessing progress in tackling insecurity, including the number of victims compensated, displaced persons resettled, survivors receiving psychological care, children returned to school, livelihoods restored and communities rebuilt.

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“A terrorist organisation may be militarily defeated while its victims remain permanently broken. That cannot properly be described as victory,” she said.

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In conclusion, she stressed that Africa’s long-term peace and regional stability would depend on strengthening governance, improving regional security cooperation, tackling corruption and accelerating inclusive economic growth.

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Arewa PUNCH reports that several African countries, particularly those in the Sahel, continue to grapple with insurgency, banditry and violent extremism despite increased military spending and regional security initiatives.

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In Nigeria, the government has complemented military operations with non-kinetic measures, including the rehabilitation of former insurgents, while victims’ groups have continued to demand greater attention to compensation, resettlement and psychological support for survivors of terrorism.

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