Author: James Okafor
James Okafor
James Okafor is a defence and security analyst with over 14 years of experience covering sub-Saharan Africa's military affairs, peacekeeping operations, and defence procurement. A former strategic communications consultant for regional security bodies, he has reported from conflict zones across the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes region. His analysis has been cited by think tanks including the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS) and various NATO-affiliated research institutions. James holds an MA in International Security Studies from the University of Pretoria and a BA in Political Science from the University of Lagos. He specialises in drone warfare, naval modernisation, arms trade dynamics, and the growing role of private military contractors on the African continent.
As African nations seek to disrupt terror organizations, they increasingly face the challenge of dismantling terrorists’ multifaceted financial systems. This is particularly true in East Africa,…
Botswana Defence Force (BDF) intelligence personnel analyzed the threat report as it came in on August 12: Unidentified drones were operating near critical infrastructure. Fortunately, it…
Since Sudan’s civil war began in 2022, mercenaries from Chad, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan have operated in the country along with some from distant nations.…
More than 1,000 kilometers separate Islamic State group (IS) affiliates in the Lake Chad Basin and the Liptako-Gourma corner of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).…
For more than a decade, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has waged an intense insurgency across the Lake Chad region, affecting communities in Chad,…
Daniel Ángel Masie Nchama is one of the few lucky ones. The 22-year-old computer science student from Equatorial Guinea was tricked into fighting for Russia on…
The Ebola outbreak that started in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo about four months ago had sickened more than 6,000 people and killed nearly…
The alliance between the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) Tuareg-led separatist movement and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) terror group is reshaping the dynamics of…
As African countries stake their claim to space by developing satellites, China has folded space missions into its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Experts note, however,…
The Kenya Navy discovered more than a metric ton of methamphetamine when it intercepted the MV Mashallah, a small, unregistered fishing boat, about 340 nautical miles…