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.
The illicit trafficking of tapentadol from India has triggered a severe public health and security crisis across West Africa, with millions of highly addictive pills flooding…
Despite a broader contraction in continental poaching figures, Southern Africa persists as a primary source for illicit rhino horn shipments bound for Chinese black markets. A…
Tunisian counter-terrorism units neutralized two distinct extremist cells in the western governorate of Kasserine earlier this year, demonstrating heightened operational readiness amid persistent low-level security threats.…
A scathing internal assessment by the National Assembly’s Defense and Security Committee has revealed severe institutional dysfunction within the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of…
A deadly insurgent assault against a Chadian military base on a Lake Chad island in early May, which resulted in the deaths of nearly two dozen…
At a major regional seminar in Nairobi, Kenya, Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), urged East African nations to aggressively…
Transnational extremist networks systematically target security vacuums created by fragmented regional cooperation, unmonitored border corridors, and localized socio-political marginalization. This strategic exploitation has made the Sahel…
A major coordinated military offensive launched in late April 2026 by the Tuareg-dominated Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) alongside the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has…
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are waging an aggressive propaganda war across digital and broadcast networks to sway…
The interception of an advanced crystal methamphetamine manufacturing facility in mid-May 2026 has confirmed the expanding footprints of Mexican transnational drug syndicates within South Africa. Armed…