Two Years On, Still Massaging Insecurity

By Alabi Williams / 16 Jun 2025

That story of a retired Army Major, Joe Ajayi, found dead after he was kidnapped from his home in Odo-Ape, Kabba-Bunu, Kogi State, is the graphic representation of how well terrorism has become localised. While Abuja metropolis is merry and well protected, dare-devil terrorists now go into homes to pick victims across the country. Citizens live in fear in their homes. Before now, travelers dreaded the highways, but the terrorists have relocated to forests near communities.

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Ajayi, reported to be 76, was quietly enjoying his retirement, when terrorists visited on May 21. They took him away and demanded an initial N50 million ransom, which they later reduced to N10 million. After payment, the terrorists directed family members to where they could locate him. They met his lifeless body.

The traditional ruler of Okoloke community in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, Oba JamesOgunyanda regained his freedom from abductors last week. According to reports, he was abducted from his palace at 2 a.m. on May 15, 2021. The 97-year-old monarch spent 27 days with the criminals before they let go. Details of how he got off their hook didn’t matter. Thank God he’s alive.

In April, the Osun Democrats for Democracy (ODD), a civil society group, lamented the abduction and killing of Kunle Adeniji, director of administration at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He was found dead after the kidnappers collected ransom to set him free. Joining ODD, the Ife Development Board, in a statement expressed sadness over the tragedy. IDB described his killing as “a sad commentary on the diminished state of insecurity of ordinary Nigerians. It is a stark reminder of the embarrassing security challenges facing our country and the imperative need for the nation’s leadership to urgently review and re-strategise its fight against kidnappers, bandits and other kidnappers who appear bent on bringing Nigeria to her knees.”

On May 12, the chairman of APC in Ward 5, Ose Local Government Area, Nelson Adepoyigi, was abducted from his residence along Ifon-Owo road, Ondo State. He was reported killed after N5 million ransom and food items were collected by his captors. Kidnapping for ransom is said to be common in Ose.

In President Tinubu’s two years, there is rampant insecurity despite the robust security plan documented in his Renewed Hope Agenda. For reminders, the agenda promised to overhaul internal security to enhance law enforcement capabilities and safeguard lives, properties and investments across the country. Citizens can’t feel any of that.

The agenda also promised the establishment of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), to strengthen forest policing, improve intelligence gathering and enhance farmers’ safety in remote areas prone to criminal activities. In addition, the agenda listed community security programmes to promote socio-economic development and foster inter-community dialogue. There is also another promise, to utilise technology to improve security and disrupt criminal networks as well as fight terrorism and violent extremism through a comprehensive approach.

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So good on paper, but there isn’t much on ground to make the country safer than Tinubu met it. There doesn’t seem to be a coherent strategy on ground to drive the promises. Bloodshed has multiplied beyond levels inherited from the Muhammadu Buhari years. There’s nopalpable grief in government apart from routine condemnation. There is also no sense of urgency and political will to cut off terrorism from source. Instead, the government flaunts untamed power with pomp and arrogance.

The mood and priority of this government is not about ordinary folks. That was exemplified in last week’s Democracy Day joint session at the National Assembly. There was no reference to the dire strait the country has found itself on account of policies of this government. The leadership is not touched by the distress it has inflicted on the people. Lawmakers that ought to know better are not sober; they’re too isolated to relate with citizen’s daily gruel. Instead, they hailed Tinubu’s plot to annihilate and capture the political space. There was nothing to remind that the country is in a state of distress and war. Nothing else matters except 2027.

When the Afenifere National Youth President, Eniola Ojajuni, was kidnapped in February 2025, along Kabba axis, Kogi State, on his way to Abuja, his experience gained profuse media attention. Upon his release after 12 days, he offered insight into his ordeal. He was moved around by the terrorists based on their intelligence and to avoid being tracked. They are not unintelligent. They shifted the place of ransom payment severally, until finally they picked Ibillo community in Akoko-Edo, Edo State. Has the security done undercover visit to Ibillo, to spy the terrorists’ vast network? Ojajuni revealed that the terrorists had set up at least 55 camps across the South-west, from where they launch their deadly operations.

How many of the camps have the security dismantled since the revelation was made? Citizens want security agencies to take the fight to the terrorists in their hideouts, rather than wait until there are distress calls. If Ojajuni, a private citizen could muster the quality of intelligence shared as a victim, government ought to be miles ahead on intelligence gathering and pre-emptive strikes.

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But the reality is that the capacity of Police Area Commands outside state capitals to launch counter attacks and rescue missions is very poor. The Police do not have sufficient technology to track kidnappers. Tinubu promised to enhance policing with technology, but many Area Commands charge victims or their family members sums to track call logs made by criminals. They do not have the technology.

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has revealed through research that about 950 locations in the Southeast are occupied by bandits, herdsmen and kidnappers. From these locations, these groups spread terror across 800 communities in the region. According to Intersociety, governments in the region are aware of the presence of criminals in their forests. At other times, they encourage encroachment of the criminals due to lack of intelligence and sheer absent-mindedness. They sell land without doing due diligence on the motive of those coming to settle in Southeast forests.

If searches were conducted by security agencies on all forests in the country, the revelation by Intersociety and the Afenifere Youth president, might just be a tip of how much infiltration has occurred.

One of the governance blunders of the Buhari government was the reluctance to profile and outlaw Fulani terrorists when they began to invade Northwest forests and set up camps. The former Director General of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, was careful during quarterly security briefings at the time, not to name the particular group responsible for the security breach in the Northwest, apart from the general notion that Islamic fighters were infiltrating the country from the Maghreb. In no time, they had taken over the entire Northwest and Northcentral. They are now in the Southwest and Southeast.

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It appears this government is also living in denial and just romancing insecurity. This is the time for President Tinubu to dust up his campaign agenda. The security component has not been touched, especially for rural communities where kidnapping has become an industry. It is not about only huge budgets but more about devolving security operations in states and communities as promised. There is need for proper coordination of security activities for a better understanding of the challenges.

The National Assembly that should be at the fore-front of policy debate have abandoned critical thought process to engage in politics. Like they did during the last government, some are now suggesting that politicians are the cause of escalating insecurity because they want to destabilise government ahead of 2027.

Orji Uzor Kalu, senator representing Abia North, shared this his insight on a television programme. He confessed that elites are fueling Boko Haram to undermine Tinubu. He said: “The political class is behind Boko Haram. They are using terrorism as a tool to fight Tinubu, just like they did with past administrations. People in the political class are the ones fueling Boko Haram. This is a political war. Some of them aren’t after money, they’re after power. They want to tear down the system just to grab control and that’s not how power should be acquired.”

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, should invite Kalu to give names of those who’re fueling insurgency in the country. This battle has cost the country trillions of naira and thousands of lives. The country has sacrificed hundreds of soldiers in this meaningless fight, which Orji claims is being waged by the political class. Since he has alleged, the onus is on him to name names. Let government stop politicising the security of the country and act on intelligence reports.

There were soundbites that clearly identified where parties stood in 2014/2015, when Boko Haram was in its infancy. There were those whose rhetoric betrayed a dalliance with insurgents, against government’s effort to contain it. Instead of showing solidarity for the government of the day, they lied about their capacity to finish the war within months, just to gain political traction. Maybe that is what the senator from Abia North is referring to. The NSA should invite him and get the details from him. A senator cannot be frivolous on this sensitive matter and there will be no consequences.

The Governor of Benue State, Hyancinth Alia, has also said some politicians in the National Assembly are architects of the killings in his state. He said they are not only instigating the attacks; they also harbour and finance the terrorists. Very weighty. For a state that has seen thousands of deaths since the days of Samuel Ortom, the NSA must be interested in these allegations.

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The onus is on President Tinubu to decide whether to fight insecurity with all sincerity or continue to play politics with it like Buhari did for eight years. Now that he has created the forest guards, citizens are hopeful and counting days to measure the difference!

Note: This article was first published by The Guardian Newspaper.
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