Di African Union (AU) don accredit Nigeria National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), wey dey under di Office of di National Security Adviser (ONSA), as one Regional Centre of Excellence in Counter Terrorism for West Africa and di Sahel.

Dis accreditation na fulfilment of President Bola Tinubu vision wey e announce for di High-Level African Counter Terrorism Meeting wey happun for Abuja for April 2024, to make di NCTC a regional hub for intelligence sharing, operational coordination, special training and capacity building against terrorism and violent extremism.

One statement wey Abu Michael, Head of Strategic Communication for NCTC, issue on Thursday, talk say di designation na big milestone for Nigeria contribution to collective African security.

E talk say di recognition formally put di centre for position to support AU member states, especially those for West Africa and di Sahel, through better counter-terrorism cooperation and institutional capacity development.

According to di statement, di accreditation give di NCTC one bigger regional mandate to provide special training, joint threat analysis, research, technical assistance, exchange of lessons learned and other kinds of counter-terrorism support.

Dem announce di accreditation on October 27, 2026, by di Acting Director of di African Union Counter Terrorism Centre (AUCTC), Dr Idriss Mounir Lallali, on behalf of di AU Commission Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, at di end of di African Lessons Learned Forum for Abuja.

Lallali talk say di recognition come after one serious assessment of di NCTC institutional capacity, governance, training programmes, analytical capabilities, coordination mechanisms and how e dey follow human rights and rule of law.

E explain say di accreditation process start with di signing of one Memorandum of Understanding between di AU and di NCTC for September 2025.