The withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from ECOWAS early last year – and the subsequent formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) – has posed a critical challenge for regional cooperation, particularly on security. According to the Global Terrorism Index, the Sahel is the “epicentre of terrorism” and rising insecurity is compounded by stalled progress on core issues including the right of hot pursuit, joint military operations, intelligence sharing and tackling illicit finance.

Following a panel event on West African security with Ghana and Nigeria’s foreign ministers at Chatham House, Paul Ejime and Paul Melly join the podcast to discuss the ministers’ call for local security solutions in the region.

The panel event formed part of the Chatham House Africa Programme’s ongoing work on African peace and security. The Programme will shortly launch a new project focused on regional conflict systems in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and Central Africa.