Don urges ECOWAS to deploy AI technology in tackling terrorism
By Mark Longyen
A Professor of Cybersecurity and Computing, Uche Mbanaso, has called on ECOWAS to embrace and deploy Artificial Intelligence tools to tackle the sub-region’s multi-faceted security challenges like violent extremism and terrorism.
Mbanaso stated this at the ECOWAS Parliament’s 2025 Second Extraordinary Session with the theme: “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Parliamentary Efficiency, Ethical Governance and Development in the ECOWAS Region,” in Port Harcourt.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the weeklong parliamentary seminar aims to acquaint the lawmakers with AI technology and how to deploy it in critical sectors across Wes Africa.
Speaking on the topic: AI Deployment in the Security Sector: Advancing Peace, Counterterrorism, and Public Safety,” he said integrating AI deployment in the security sector would transform West Africa’s security architecture.
“The integration of AI deployment in the security dector is poised to transform regional security and safety, offering both opportunities and challenges for the sub-region.
“Therefore, it is incumbent on ECOWAS to emphasise the need for a unified and structured framework for AI integration, supported by ethical guidelines, to maximise benefits while reducing risks.
“While AI holds significant potential for advancing peace, counterterrorism, and public safety, its practical implementation depends on tackling issues related to accuracy, cognitive disengagement, and ethics,” he said.
Mbanaso, who spoke as a resource person, however, noted that challenges such as over-reliance on AI, diminished creative, innovative and critical thinking skills, data privacy risks, and dishonesty are growing concerns.
According to him, a balanced approach is crucial to provide a unified, fair, efficient, and responsible peace with AI support settings, while avoiding AI ethical and responsible application gaps, is necessary.
The don stressed that West Africa’s AI application must be deliberate, discussed, coordinated, and harmonised through a policy framework and strategy that prioritises the development of digital infrastructure.
“Development of digital infrastructure must be prioritised to ensure fairness, accountability, and transparency across the ecosystem, while awareness and training in AI applications must be mandatory and monitored to guarantee conformity and compliance.
“The region should work harder to develop a humane but optimal relationship with AI, where humans take the lead, emphasising collaboration and mutual enhancement.
“AI should serve as a robust tool that supports human creativity, innovative and critical thinking, and complex decision-making, rather than substituting for humans. This partnership must be deliberate, coordinated andharmonised,” he said.
The cybersecurity expert also advocated the deployment of AI-driven tools for border control and monitoring across the sub-region as a critical mechanism to tackle West Africa’s myriad security challenges.
He said that border security personnel continue to face the difficulttask of swiftly identifying and countering various evolving threats across diverse ECOWAS borders and the changing environments in which they operate.
Mbanaso said that having a unified, AI-powered ecosystem across ECOWAS borders, with coordinated and harmonised control operations, could significantly improve security measures by effectively detecting unusual behaviours and crimes in real-time.
“The development and integration of large-scale centralised information systems,alongside the implementation of a decentralised information exchange mechanism for ECOWAS members, can facilitate AI-driven border control and monitoring,” he said.
He further said that AI deployment would enhance border security and situational awareness through a comprehensive dataset, complex network of surveillance tools, data-sharing mechanisms, and pre-frontier situational awareness systems.
Mbanaso suggested the deployment of an ECOWAS Advance Passenger Information mechanism, which can enable airlines to transmit live passenger details, including passports, to ECOWAS border authorities for pre-checks against immigration databases.
He also advocated the creation of an ECOWAS Border Surveillance System, which can link national and ECOWAS surveillance resources, including drones, cameras, and sensors, to improve border monitoring and situational awareness.
“AI’s computer vision capabilities can be utilised to examine images for anomalies,enhancing border surveillance, and identifying irregularities in vehicles carrying loads, monitor border regions with drones, and even authenticate forged documents through image analysis.
“AI-powered chatbots can be utilised in online application processes for long-term residence or migration within the ECOWAS sub-region, as well as for permission to relocate to another ECOWAS member state.
“The aim is to provide real-time information, respond to enquiries, and facilitate border crossing procedures smoothly across member state borders,” he said.
He emphasised that ECOWAS and its Member States should embrace a uniform artificial intelligence (AI) technology (UAIT) to strengthen border control and mitigate security risks related to cross-border terrorism and serious crime.
“This should be a concrete effort towards a ‘smartening’ of ECOWAS borders, which demands the development and interlinking of large-scale centralised information systems and the deployment of a decentralised information exchange mechanism for borders and security,” he added.(NAN)
Edited by Sadiya Hamza
Published By
- Agriculture and Environment Desk Controller/Website Content Manager.
Has also recently published
ForeignSeptember 24, 2025Don urges ECOWAS to deploy AI technology in tackling terrorism
General NewsSeptember 24, 2025Lagos governor reaffirms commitment to women’s innovation, leadership
ForeignSeptember 24, 2025ECOWAS Parliament must deploy AI tools for legislative efficiency — Expert
AgricultureSeptember 24, 2025NADF lauds efforts to reduce post-harvest losses
