Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the President Bola Tinubu administration’s handling of insecurity, warning that Nigeria’s security architecture is failing to keep pace with evolving threats posed by terrorists, bandits and kidnappers.
Atiku made the remarks in a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, where he argued that criminal groups continue to adapt and refine their tactics while government responses remain largely reactive.
“The terrorists are learning from every attack. They study their successes and failures. They refine their tactics. They identify vulnerabilities. They adapt and strike again,” Atiku said.
“The question Nigerians must ask is simple: Why isn’t the government doing the same?”
The former vice president expressed concern over the spread of insecurity beyond its traditional strongholds in northern Nigeria to other parts of the country, describing it as evidence of a security framework that has failed to evolve alongside emerging threats.
According to him, Nigeria can no longer afford what he termed a “business-as-usual” approach to counterterrorism and requires urgent reforms to its security structure.
Atiku noted that a recurring pattern has emerged in which attacks are followed by public outrage, official assurances and investigative panels, only for similar incidents to occur again without meaningful lessons being implemented.
“From Chibok to Oyo, from countless villages in the North-West to communities across the Middle Belt and beyond, the pattern has become tragically familiar. An attack occurs. The nation mourns. Promises are made. Committees are announced. Then another attack follows.
“A nation that refuses to learn from its tragedies is condemned to relive them,” he said.
The ADC chieftain argued that successive administrations have relied heavily on centrally designed and externally influenced counterterrorism models while neglecting the experiences and realities of communities directly affected by violence.
He called on the Federal Government to conduct a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s National Counterterrorism Policy and ensure that future strategies are informed by lessons from past incidents.
Referring to the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls and more recent cases of school kidnappings, Atiku said Nigeria should have developed stronger preventive mechanisms and early warning systems.
“We went through the harrowing tragedy of the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction. The pain of that national trauma remains etched permanently in our collective memory. Yet years later, schoolchildren and teachers are still being abducted in different parts of the country.
“We ought to have drawn critical lessons and early warning indicators from Chibok and other similar incidents to ensure that what recently happened in Oyo State and elsewhere never happened again,” he said.
As part of his recommendations, Atiku proposed the establishment of a Terrorism Violence Peer Review Mechanism that would bring together affected communities, traditional leaders, security agencies and other stakeholders to document lessons from previous attacks and incorporate them into national security planning.
He said such a framework would improve grassroots intelligence gathering, strengthen early warning systems and enhance cooperation between communities and security agencies.
The former vice president also advocated the creation of specialised Counterterrorism Fusion Centres across the six geopolitical zones to facilitate real-time intelligence sharing among the military, police, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, immigration authorities, customs officials and local vigilante groups.
According to him, military deployments alone cannot defeat terrorism without robust intelligence capabilities.
“The battle against terrorism cannot be won solely through military deployments.
“Every successful counterterrorism campaign around the world has relied heavily on intelligence superiority,” he stated.
Atiku further linked insecurity to broader governance challenges, including poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and inadequate state presence in vulnerable communities.
“We must recognise that terrorism is not merely a security challenge; it is also a governance challenge,” he said.
The former vice president also proposed a National Victims and Survivors Support Framework to provide psychosocial care, educational support and economic recovery programmes for individuals and communities affected by terrorist attacks.
He questioned the effectiveness of government spending on defence and security, noting that despite substantial budgetary allocations over the years, many Nigerians still feel unsafe.
“What is particularly troubling is that despite trillions of naira budgeted for defence and security over the years, Nigerians are less secure today than they were a decade ago.
“This is not merely a failure of resources; it is a failure of strategy, coordination, accountability, and leadership,” he added.
Atiku’s comments come amid ongoing concerns over insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and attacks on rural communities across several parts of the country. Although the Federal Government has consistently maintained that security agencies have recorded significant successes against criminal groups, recent incidents have continued to fuel public debate over the effectiveness of Nigeria’s security strategy.
The former vice president urged the Tinubu administration to move beyond rhetoric and implement practical reforms capable of restoring public confidence in the nation’s ability to safeguard lives and property.
“Nigerians deserve nothing less than a counterterrorism framework that is proactive, evidence-based, transparent, and firmly rooted in our domestic realities,” he said.
