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.
Russian work at six Libyan air bases shows that Moscow is expanding its military foothold in North Africa, while transferring weapons, mercenaries and other fighters to…
As drones increase in importance to military operations, African tech entrepreneurs want to show that they can build an industry tailored to the continent’s unique needs.…
Daniel Uyirwoth Welo, dressed in full-body protective gear, can be seen in a recent viral video running for his life when a crowd in a cemetery…
As terror groups from the Sahel encroach on coastal West African states, Mauritania has remained relatively peaceful. The country has not experienced a major terror attack…
In Sierra Leone, the illegal activities of foreign industrial trawlers are decimating fish stocks and threatening the livelihoods of artisanal fishermen. Their average catches are down…
Terrorist groups increasingly are targeting roads, communities and commercial hubs within a 10-kilometer radius of mines in the Sahel, according to a new report by conflict…
As naval leaders from across the continent gathered in Rabat, Morocco for the fourth annual African Maritime Forces Summit they acknowledged an array of threats. Illegal…
Across the Sahel landscape, an old security feature is returning: fortified barriers. Inhabitants of rural towns are building rings of earthen walls and trenches in an…
Boko Haram’s first female suicide bomber killed herself and a Nigerian Soldier in 2014 at a barracks in Gombe State. Since then, Boko Haram has deployed…
Amid a spate of recent arrests on charges of human trafficking, police and government officials in Zimbabwe are investigating an elaborate recruitment network responsible for funneling…