The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, has warned that cattle theft in West Africa has evolved from a rural nuisance into a sophisticated criminal enterprise that now fuels terrorism, radicalisation, and global security threats.
Egbetokun made the disclosure while presenting a paper titled “Cattle Theft in West Africa: A Conduit for Terrorism Financing and CBRNE Threat” at the 27th INTERPOL African Regional Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Nigerian police chief stressed that rustling, once an opportunistic crime, has become an organised industry in which stolen livestock are laundered through informal markets and converted into cash for insurgents and bandits.
“A single raid of 200 cattle can generate as much as \$60,000 in illicit sales overnight. What looks like ordinary livestock commerce may, in fact, be the financing arm of terrorism,” he said.
Terrorism and CBRNE Linkages
Egbetokun highlighted evidence showing direct links between cattle theft and extremist groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, and armed militants in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria’s North-West region. These groups, he said, impose “cattle taxes,” raid villages, and channel proceeds into arms purchases and recruitment.
He also raised concerns about the intersection of cattle theft with chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) threats. Illegal livestock movements, he explained, not only spread zoonotic diseases like anthrax but also exploit the same smuggling corridors used for trafficking radioactive materials and components for improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Humanitarian Impact
Beyond security risks, the IGP drew attention to the devastating human toll of rustling, noting that it displaces families, fuels farmer–herder clashes, deepens poverty, and in some cases, pushes desperate victims into joining extremist groups.
Nigeria’s Response
Egbetokun outlined Nigeria’s multi-pronged strategy against cattle theft, including special police operations such as Operation Puff Adder and Operation Hadarin Daji, collaboration with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to track illicit proceeds, and deployment of drones, geo-mapping, and biometric tagging pilots in high-risk corridors.
He added that community engagement with traditional rulers, vigilante groups, and pastoralist associations has improved grassroots intelligence, while Nigeria’s investment in forensic labs and veterinary surveillance units is enhancing CBRNE preparedness.
Call for Regional Cooperation
The IGP urged African countries and international partners to intensify collaboration, stressing the role of INTERPOL in developing regional livestock crime databases, training on terror financing, and supporting cross-border task forces. He also called for stronger cooperation with ECOWAS, AU, UNODC, FAO, and IAEA to regulate livestock trade and protect Africa from becoming a “soft target” for CBRNE proliferation.
“Cattle theft is no longer just a pastoral crime. It is a strategic enabler of terrorism, a driver of radicalisation, and a multiplier of global security threats,” Egbetokun warned.
“If we confront it with intelligence and cooperation, we can choke off a vital artery of terror financing and safeguard our continent.”
