Terrorism claiming 44 lives daily in West Africa – Regional leaders

By Ochiaka Ugwu

Heads of State and Government of the Republic of Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone and Representatives of Burkina Faso, Mali. Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo have described West African region as the current global epicenter of terrorism and violent extremism recording at least eight terror attacks and claiming averagely 44 lives daily.
The leaders who made this known in a communiqué released after a High-Level consultative meeting on Regional Cooperation and Security in Accra, Ghana from 29th to 30th January, 2026 noted that more than half of all global terrorism-related deaths were recorded in the region making it to witness alarming uptick in extremist attacks for which inaction was not an option.
The two-day High-Level meeting which was convened under the chairmanship of John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, President Julius Maada Bio and President Joseph Boakai led the delegations of Sierra Leone and Liberia, respectively sought to rebuild and deepen sub-regional collaboration, focusing on enhancing resilience, restoring confidence, and addressing the structural roots of insecurity.
According to the communiqué, “Rather than relying on episodic diplomacy or limited operational coordination, the strategic goal was to establish a structured and permanent framework for cooperation. This framework is designed to develop shared programmes, standards, and infrastructure priorities while managing common risks. By fostering endangerment with states central to the counterterrorism effort, the initiative recognizes that fragmentation incurs heavy economic, social, and security costs that diminish collective problem-solving capacity.
“At the end of the meeting, participants reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening regional cooperation to address the evolving peace, security and governance challenges in order to rebuild regional stability. They also declared that sustainable security in Western Africa calls for a shift toward a “human security” approach, underpinned by regional solidarity, respect for sovereignty, and a people-centred, gender-responsive approach to peacebuilding” the communiqué read in part.
The conference concluded with a renewed sense of regional solidarity with a firm resolve to move beyond dialogue, turning the commitments into measurable outcomes that protect the lives and livelihoods of citizens across the region, and ensure strict monitoring to guarantee implementation of the outcomes of the communiqué.
It should be noted that Nigerian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu led Nigeria’s delegation to the Conference.