West Africa in April 2026: the most important developments in security
West Africa's security news in April 2026 was led by the aftermath of the coup plot in Benin. A wanted activist was arrested in South Africa over support for the plot, and a Lagos-based businessman who had been evading authorities was arrested in Benin. French special forces were reported to be helping Benin in its fight against jihadists.
In Nigeria, nearly 400 people were reported to have been sentenced for links to Boko Haram or the Islamic State West Africa Province, and Nigeria denied involvement with jihadists and a failed spy, according to a report in the Times. Twenty-one people were killed in a clash with robbers. In Lagos, police detained an officer over an alleged extortion of 10,000 naira and arrested several suspects over a machete parade in the city, and the food and drug agency NAFDAC seized counterfeit alcohol worth 350 million naira and shut down illegal factories.
Further west and south, Togo's capital Lome was reported to be positioning itself as a mediator in a new security strategy for the Sahel, and France expressed support for regional efforts against terrorism in Togo. Cameroon said Russia had confirmed the deaths of 16 Cameroonian soldiers in Ukraine, and a US Army major in Virginia was charged with plotting to assist separatist fighters in Cameroon.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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