Adapting Border Controls in the Lake Chad Basin [bicc report]

To secure border communities from violence perpetrated by non-state armed groups (NSAGs), it is necessary that sustained, adaptive efforts are made rather than reliance placed on a single, comprehensive policy. It is important to evaluate what works and respond to changing strategy patterns by NSAGs, adjusting to new security challenges when developing and implementing control measures in borderlands with limited state presence. However, these cannot be achieved without input from border inhabitants. To tailor military operations to changing NSAG tactics, control policies must evolve in step with the security landscape. Without contextual sensitivity and flexibility, border controls risk losing touch with the realities on the ground, weakening their effectiveness and creating gaps for NSAGs to exploit.