Accra, GhanaIn West Africa, many communities have been caught off guard by the spread of violent extremism. Along Benin’s northern border with Niger, local officials felt almost paralyzed after a series of events in April 2022.
A threatening letter left at a mosque in Karimama warned that extremists would attack unless residents allowed them to recruit their youth. In what appeared to be related to the letter, an extremist group attacked on April 26, 2022, the police station in Monsey, setting it ablaze and killing an officer. Residents feared that violent extremist groups had infiltrated their community and were planning further attacks.
“We were living in fear and did not know what to say to the communities who were terrorized, especially after the attack on the police station,” says Amadou Bonkanon, Second Deputy Mayor of Karimama commune.
Communities felt alone in the face of extremism
Insecurity had been growing in northern Benin since late 2021. The situation escalated in 2022 with fatal attacks on soldiers, a customs post and a police post in Benin’s northern department of Alibori, which includes the commune of Karimama. In fear, several hundred people fled the commune and took refuge in neighboring areas.
Community members expressed concern about the lack of response from government authorities. National officials did not send any message of assurance about efforts being put in place to secure the communities’ safety, nor any guidance on how to react in such situations. Local officials lacked the skills to liaise with national officials and international agencies to gain extra support. Citizens felt vulnerable and marginalized, a climate that weakens social cohesion and trust in institutions.
Moreover, local authorities admitted they were not prepared to practice effective communication in times of crisis. For example, local authorities shared sensitive information about extremist violence with all staff at the town hall, not realizing it placed them at risk. Similarly, local officials asked mosque leaders to make public statements against extremism without considering that this could pose dangers for the religious leaders.
“Before, during Friday sermons and prayers, we publicly asked that the imams pray for the commune, pray to protect us against violent extremist groups, without knowing that it was dangerous,” says Medawa Oumarou, First Deputy Mayor of Karimama commune.
Local officials overlooked the possibility that extremists could be present among the congregations who could identify mosque leaders as targets if they spoke out against extremism. “We lacked understanding on how to discreetly report incidents or suspicions without putting ourselves at risk of reprisals,” Oumarou said.
A turnaround in local security
In an inspiring turnaround, the local officials were able to regain a sense of agency amid the advance of violent extremism thanks in part to training and support from the Littorals Regional Initiative funded by USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) that generated results this year.
In line with its strategy to empower local leaders in preventing violent extremism, USAID/OTI’s Littorals Regional Initiative focused on improving local officials’ crisis communications skills.
In partnership with the Organisation pour le Développement Durable, le Renforcement et l’Auto-promotion des Structures Communautaires (Organization for Sustainable Development, Strengthening and Self-promotion of Community Structures), a Beninese NGO that promotes social justice and empowers disadvantaged communities, organized a comprehensive two-day training on preventing violent extremism and conflict-sensitive communication customized for 25 religious and community leaders and five officials from the mayor’s office of Karimama in the northern department of Alibori including Karimama Mayor Soule Sambo Issifou in May 2022. Underscoring the importance of effective communication with the populace after attacks, the training equipped the leaders to understand and effectively communicate about violent extremism, calm fears and reduce communities’ feelings of abandonment.
Abdoulaye Guiwa, District Chief of Monsey, was kidnapped by extremists during the attack on the Monsey police station.
“I was with my family at home when it happened,” Guiwa recalls. “Everyone in the house was scared. People were crying and thought it was over for me. They took me far into the bush, and for days I was kept with other people who were kidnapped, too.”
Guiwa managed to escape when the kidnappers were not paying attention. He now believes that his lack of understanding of crisis communication was part of the reason he was kidnapped.
“At that time, we didn’t understand that our way of communicating was exposing us,” Guiwa says. “We shared sensitive information in public and collaborated with the security forces in full view of everyone. This could be the reason for my kidnap.”
Reflecting on the training, Guiwa says his actions have changed.
“With this training, I sincerely understood how much I put myself in danger on several occasions. I now know how to communicate or denounce without putting myself in danger,” Guiwa adds. “Now we know how to inform the hierarchy without putting ourselves in danger and to ensure the authenticity of the information or to verify it before communicating it.”
Ismail Badou Soffo, a community leader and resident of the village of Djindjiré-Béri in Tanguieta commune, says crisis communication was not coordinated in the past.
“Initially, we didn’t receive any formal communication or guidance on how to act when there is a threat or even when there is an attack, so each of us did what we thought was best,” Soffo says. “Now I handle rumors differently. When I hear one, I don’t spread it, and I ask the person who shared it to stop spreading it further. Then, I look for the source, and try to verify the truthfulness, and then decide on the appropriate course of action.”
The training program provided religious leaders with communication approaches they can safely use during Friday sermons to counter violent extremism and promote ethnic tolerance and social cohesion. After the program, imams transmitted messages of tolerance and coexistence during religious services while encouraging residents to remain calm and cautious, given the municipality’s situation after the Monsey attack.
“We must educate all prayer callers to lower their voices and avoid using microphones during the call to prayer,” says Garba Aoudou, a religious leader from Karimama. “I advise all participants to strictly avoid talking about violent extremist organizations during public gatherings, as we don’t know everyone present.”
To begin repairing the loss of trust, the Littorals Regional Initiative and DEDRAS also organized two days of dialogue in June 2022 involving community leaders, local government authorities, and community members from Karimama. Participants shared their perspectives on the attack in Monsey, renewing trust between residents and authorities and fostering goodwill within the community.
Sharing strategy with other communities
Discussions during the interventions highlighted the need for a proactive strategy to prepare at-risk communities before violent extremist attacks occur. USAID/OTI’s Littorals Regional Initiative recognized that raising awareness among elected officials from less-affected areas would encourage action to prevent violent extremism while diffusing effective communication approaches.
By bridging the communication gap between local authorities and constituents, Karimama Mayor Issifou expresses strong support for extending the training to mayors and authorities in other communes. Issifou also notes the value of local officials meeting with their peers from other town halls to enhance communication during security crises.
To support sharing the knowledge with other local officials across the region, USAID/OTI’s Littorals Regional Initiative and DEDRAS provided refresher training on conflict-sensitive communication and preventing violent extremism in May 2023 for Mayors Issifou and Kassa as well as their four deputy mayors. The partners then supported the mayors of Karimama and Materi in organizing an experience-sharing tour by visiting the town halls of 25 communes in the departments of Atacora, Donga, Borgou and Alibori from May to July 2023.
During the tour, Karimama Mayor Issifou and Materi Mayor Wimbo Robert Kassa shared lessons learned and conflict-sensitive communication strategies with their counterparts from other communes. Mayors Issifou and Kassa used the opportunity to advocate for the formation of a regional coalition of northern mayors to advocate for support from national and international officials in countering violent extremism.
To share experiences from the tour, the USAID/OTI’s Littorals Regional Initiative and DEDRAS organized a conference on peace and social cohesion in August 2023, gathering mayors from northern Benin’s four departments. At the conference in Parakou, 32 participants discussed how to address the causes of insecurity, such as improvements in infrastructure, youth employment, and intelligence. The conference improved coordination and communication among the mayors as they agreed on the topics they would press during advocacy visits in 2024.
Advocating to end violent extremism
The partners supported mayor delegations in making advocacy visits in January and February 2024 with national authorities from five ministries and four commissions and agencies and international representatives from three embassies.
In late January 2024, a group of six mayors from northern Benin and DEDRAS staff made advocacy visits to numerous national ministries and institutions. The mayors recounted to national officials the attacks that their communities had suffered, including kidnappings, targeted killings and theft of livestock.
The mayors informed national officials of the harmful consequences resulting from the violence, including inter-communal tensions, economic downturns, closure of primary schools and displacement of residents. The mayors asked the national officials to provide support by promoting youth employment, providing local security plans, easing curfews, improving security for communal officials, securing roads between municipalities and reinforcing defense and security forces. The national officials promised to address the local officials’ concerns.
In February 2024, the mayors conducted a high-level advocacy visit to Beninese officials — including national commissions on refugees, violent extremism and pastoralism, the Ministry of Development and Coordination of Government Action and the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security — as well as with the U.S. Ambassador to Benin and international officials from Expertise France and the Embassy of the Netherlands. The mayors highlighted the dangers facing their communities and advocated for actions to strengthen security and social cohesion. The officials expressed their commitment to addressing the mayors’ concerns.
Local officials’ advocacy generates results
The advocacy efforts led to clear improvements in infrastructure and communication. The Ministry of the Interior and Public Security initiated a project to establish 35 one-stop social protection centers, and the Materi municipality expedited the installation of its center. The mayors expressed gratitude, noting improved coordination and communication with departmental and national authorities, and acknowledged the positive impact on their communities. Karimama Mayor Isssifou said the visits led national authorities to accelerate the construction of the vital Guéné-Karimama road.
Mayors said the contacts have improved communication with national ministries on critical security issues and potential solutions and that national institutions are more receptive to local officials’ information. Local officials said they now have a better understanding of the national strategy for preventing violent extremism and local security plans, and they are confident they will maintain good communication going forward.
