Former Vice President and 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the administration of Bola Tinubu over its handling of insecurity, arguing that terrorists and bandits are adapting faster than the government’s response mechanisms.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the spread of terrorism, banditry and kidnapping beyond their traditional northern strongholds shows that Nigeria’s security framework is struggling to keep up with evolving threats.
“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 ADC chieftain warned against what he described as a “business-as-usual” approach to counterterrorism, insisting that Nigeria urgently needs a comprehensive overhaul of its security architecture.
According to him, attacks across the country have followed a familiar pattern: tragedy, public outrage, official assurances and investigations, followed by another attack with little evidence that lessons were learned.
“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.”
Atiku argued that successive governments have depended too heavily on centrally designed and externally influenced counterterrorism strategies while neglecting lessons from communities directly affected by violence.
He called for an immediate review of Nigeria’s national counterterrorism policy and proposed the creation of a Terrorism Violence Peer Review Mechanism to document lessons from previous attacks and incorporate them into security planning.
The former vice president also advocated the establishment of specialised counterterrorism fusion centres in Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones to improve intelligence-sharing among the military, police, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, immigration authorities, customs officials and local vigilante groups.
Emphasising the importance of intelligence gathering, he said:
“The battle against terrorism cannot be won solely through military deployments.
“Every successful counterterrorism campaign around the world has relied heavily on intelligence superiority.”
Atiku further linked insecurity to broader governance challenges, arguing that poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and state neglect create conditions that extremist groups exploit for recruitment.
He also proposed a National Victims and Survivors Support Framework to provide psychological support, education assistance and economic recovery programmes for victims of terrorist attacks.
Questioning the impact of government spending on security, Atiku noted that despite huge defence budgets over the years, many Nigerians still feel increasingly 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.”
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 security system.
“Nigerians deserve nothing less than a counterterrorism framework that is proactive, evidence-based, transparent, and firmly rooted in our domestic realities,” he said.