Nigerian confraternities in South Africa: brotherhood or criminal enterprise?

Targeted interventions will be needed to unravel the complex layers of criminality associated with these groups.

Date: 2025-10-30

Time: 11:00 to 12:30

Venue: ISS Seminar Room, ISS Pretoria and online via Zoom

Nigerian confraternities operating in South Africa are mired in transnational organised crime. Originally university-based movements advocating for liberation and social justice, violence has become entrenched among confraternities and reports of criminality among members are rife.

The Black Axe is one of the most prominent confraternities. It is linked to cybercrime and trafficking across the globe, fuelling debates about African mafia-style criminal enterprises. This event launches a new ENACT report on the issue. Speakers will discuss the ideals, structure, expansion and modus operandi of confraternities in the diaspora, and whether they should be treated as criminal enterprises.

Moderator: Martin Ewi, Regional Coordinator for Southern Africa, ENACT, Institute for Security Studies

Opening remarks: TBC, Representative, EU Delegation to Southern Africa

Speakers:

Dr Ndubuisi Christian Ani, Senior Researcher and Project Coordinator, ENACT, ISS
Daniel Brombacher, Director, Observatory of Organized Crime in Europe, Global Initiative on Transnational Organized Crime
Prof Ettanibi Alemika, Professor of Criminology and the Sociology of Law, University of Jos, Nigeria
Emma van der Walt, Founder and CEO, Brave to Love, South Africa