• ECOWAS plans a rapid deployment brigade of 260,000 troops costing $2.5bn annually.
• The force will back frontline states with logistics and financial support against terrorism.
• Sahel violence killed 51% of global terror victims in 2024, with threat spreading south.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) needs $2.5 billion per year to set up a 260,000-strong rapid regional deployment counterterrorism brigade, according to discussions at the African Chiefs of Defense Staff summit held on August 25 in Abuja, Nigeria.

“The activation of this rapid deployment force has become a necessity given the asymmetric security dynamics in the region. We are conscious of the fact that this bold initiative requires the necessary financial resources and capabilities to make it a reality,” said Abdel-Fattah Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, speaking on behalf of Commission President Dr. Omar Touray.

The funds will also provide logistical and financial support to frontline states facing terrorist threats. Central Sahel remains the epicenter of terrorist violence. According to the Global Terrorism Index, the region accounted for 51% of all terrorism-related deaths worldwide in 2024. But the threat is now moving south, with coastal countries such as Benin and Côte d’Ivoire, long seen as buffer zones, increasingly exposed to jihadist incursions.

In response to the advance of armed groups and the spread of violent extremism, ECOWAS is seeking to strengthen its security framework. In March 2025, it announced the activation of its standby force to fight terrorism and transnational crime in the region.

Finance and Defense Ministers of member states are scheduled to meet in Abuja on Friday, August 29, to finalize the implementation details of the project.