ABUJA, April 25 (MENA) - Nigeria has adopted the Counter Terrorism Technology (CT-TECH+) initiative to enhance its capacity to secure the country and the Sahel region.

The Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, made this known at the official kick-off of the CT TECH+ initiative, organized in collaboration with UN Office for Counter Terrorism (UNOCT), on Thursday in Abuja.

The event was also in collaboration with Interpol and funded by the European Union.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that CT TECH+ is a two-year joint initiative that aims to strengthen the capacity of partner states, including Nigeria, to respond effectively to the growing threat of terrorism facilitated by new and emerging technologies.

Laka said that technology has ushered the world into a new era where global citizens now find themselves living in two interconnected realms, the physical world and the digital domain.

He said as innovation continues to evolve and new technologies emerge at an unprecedented pace, it converges vast opportunities and also complex, dynamic, and ever-changing risks.

He said that the digital age had opened a gateway for terrorists to exploit emerging technologies from artificial intelligence to autonomous technologies, encrypted communications, and blockchain-based financial tools, among others.

He said the initiative has provided access to radical content, recruitment platforms, illicit funding mechanisms, and the anonymity provided by cyberspace have also compounded the threats we face daily.

"More recently, we witnessed a disturbing trend where terrorists use commercial drones for surveillance over military deployments and even more concerning, these same drones have been weaponized to deliver explosive payloads. (MENA)
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