Who we are
The Nigeria Security Network (NSN) is a group of experts dedicated to investigating and tackling insecurity in Nigeria, particularly in relation to the Boko Haram insurgency. We pursue our work through joint research, analysis, and dialogue.
Our work is based on the concept of sustainable security, which means focusing on the root causes of conflict rather than relying solely on military force to address its symptoms. We are particularly focused on preventing attacks on civilians and tackling human rights violations, as these are major drivers of conflict. Our long term objective is to help deliver a holistic, rights-based approach to security in Nigeria.
Our team
Andrew Noakes
Andrew is Director of the Nigeria Security Network. He has worked for Amnesty International and Save the Children, and is a graduate of the War Studies Department at King’s College London. He works at the intersection of human rights and security, focusing on the compatibility between respect for human rights and effective counter-terrorism.
Our members
Alkasim Abdulkadir
Alkasim is a contributing editor at the recently established Trent Online. As a social commentator, he has received acclaim for his extensive coverage and analysis of the Boko Haram Insurgency and terrorism in West Africa.
Saratu Abiola
Saratu currently works as a communications officer for the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta. She also helps to run the Testimonial Archive Project, which documents the testimonies of survivors of violence in northeast Nigeria.
John Campbell
John is Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the former US ambassador to Nigeria and author of Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink.
Ryan Cummings
Ryan is an African security risk analyst based in South Africa. He is the author of numerous publications on the Boko Haram insurgency, including on the regional dimension of the conflict and the impact of the 2013 state of emergency.
Hannah Hoechner
Hannah Hoechner is based at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and she has studied International Relations and Development in Dresden and Oxford. She is researching traditional Quranic schools and has conducted over a year of field research in Kano in northern Nigeria.
Emily Mellgard
Emily is a Researcher with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and former Research Associate with the Africa Program at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Kyari Mohammed
Kyari is Professor of History and Director of the Centre for Peace and Security Studies at the Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State in north-eastern Nigeria. He has written extensively on the history of inter-group relations, radical Islamic groups, and communal and ethno-religious conflicts and violence in northern Nigeria.
Daniella Montemarano
Daniella is a community-based conflict transformation and peace education expert. She has worked on peace-building projects across West Africa.
Cheta Nwanze
Cheta is a journalist and commentator on Boko Haram based in Lagos. He writes regularly for Africa is A country and other news media and think tanks.
Nnamdi Obasi
Nnamdi is International Crisis Group’s Senior Nigeria Analyst. Previously, he was the Director of Safer Africa Security Support Group. Nnamdi was a Research Fellow for the Centre for Peace Research and Conflict Resolution, and the Principal Research Fellow and Head of Department at the Department of Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs at the African Centre for Strategic Research and Training, both at the National Defense College in Abuja.
Freedom Onuhoha
Freedom is based at the Centre for Strategic Research and Studies, National Defence College, Abuja. His current research interests centre on non-state armed groups and transnational threats in Africa – extremist movements, maritime piracy, oil theft, and other forms of organised crime.
Oliver Owen
Oliver is a research fellow at Oxford University’s Department of International Development. He has previously studied for a DPhil at Oxford University’s Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, where he undertook an ethnographic study of the Nigerian Police Force. He is an expert on policing structures and practice in Nigeria.
Elizabeth Pearson
Elizabeth is a gender and extremism analyst. She is a graduate of the War Studies Department at King’s College London.
Zacharias Pieri
Zacharias is based at the University of South Florida. His focus is on the ideological development of Boko Haram and the political and religious history of north-east Nigeria. He has a Masters Degree in Modern Middle East Studies and a PhD in Ethno-Politics.
Andrew Walker
Andrew is a British journalist and Nigeria analyst who has covered the Boko Haram conflict extensively for the BBC. He previously worked for the Media Trust newspapers in Nigeria.
Jason Warner
Jason is based at Harvard University where he is a PhD student on the African and African-American Studies program. His research interests include international relations, comparative politics, security studies, and African political thought.
Jacob Zenn
Jacon Zenn is an African Affairs Analyst at the Jamestown Foundation, where he has written extensively on the Boko Haram insurgency. He is also a non-resident research fellow of the Center for Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies in Shanghai, China.