Benefits of new technologies in clearing Nigeria’s improvised landmines

Nigeria faces a growing threat from improvised landmines in its northeastern region, with casualties quadrupling between 2022 and 2024. Current clearance efforts, managed exclusively by the Nigerian Army, rely on slow and risky manual tools like handheld metal detectors. The document argues that integrating airborne remote sensing and AI—technologies that have shown success in NATO and Harvard University experiments—could accelerate detection and improve safety. However, implementation is hindered by stringent drone regulations from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and state security concerns regarding the dual-use of UAVs. The brief recommends that federal authorities grant special derogations for humanitarian trials and formalize these technologies within the national mine action strategy currently being developed with the ICRC.

• Nigeria is experiencing a significant increase in casualties from improvised landmines, particularly in the northeast. Between January and September 2024, there were 613 casualties, 64% of whom were civilians. The average annual number of victims rose from approximately 138 per year (2011–2021) to an estimated 495 per year (2022–2024).
• Current landmine detection in Nigeria is the sole responsibility of the military and is limited by the use of manual tools, such as handheld metal detectors, which are slow and pose risks to operators.
• Airborne remote sensing and AI offer a viable alternative for faster and safer detection over large areas. Evidence from NATO tests in northern Canada and Harvard University experiments using ground-penetrating radars on rotary-wing drones demonstrate the ability to detect improvised devices beneath the surface.
• The deployment of these technologies in Nigeria is obstructed by legal and security barriers. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority enforces strict UAV regulations, and state authorities fear that drones could be repurposed by non-state armed groups for surveillance or suicide bombings.
• Improvised landmines have severely impacted the socio-economic stability of northeastern Nigeria, specifically in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states, by disrupting agriculture, commerce, and access to essential public services.
• While Nigeria declared the clearance of conventional landmines in 2011, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) and the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) have not yet been domesticated into national law, though a draft bill for the APMBC was submitted to the Ministry of Defence by September 2024.

APA

Soumahoro, M. (2025). Benefits of new technologies in clearing Nigeria’s improvised landmines. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1756895233175-pb-202.pdf

Chicago

Soumahoro, Moussa. Benefits of new technologies in clearing Nigeria’s improvised landmines. Institute for Security Studies, 2025. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1756895233175-pb-202.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Soumahoro |first1=Moussa |title=Benefits of new technologies in clearing Nigeria’s improvised landmines |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2025 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1756895233175-pb-202.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{soumahoro2025benefits, author = {Soumahoro, Moussa}, title = {{Benefits of new technologies in clearing Nigeria’s improvised landmines}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2025}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1756895233175-pb-202.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }