An African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential aspirant for the 2027 election, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, has presented a detailed security blueprint outlining how he intends to address insecurity in Nigeria if elected.
Hayatu-Deen, former chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, shared the proposals in a statement posted on his X account on Tuesday, stressing that Nigeria’s security challenges are closely tied to its economic problems.
“Nigeria’s security crisis is not separate from the economy. It is the same problem,” he stated.
He warned that poverty and insecurity are reinforcing each other, affecting agriculture, trade, and job creation, while also enabling criminal networks to grow.
He said one of his first actions in office would be to formally classify certain armed groups as terrorist organisations under the Terrorism Prevention Act.
“ON DAY ONE, I will take the following actions: 1.Designate specific groups as terrorist organisations. Section 54 of the Terrorism Prevention Act gives the President that power and I will use it. Yan Bindiga, ISWAP-affiliated kidnapping syndicates, and other identifiable criminal networks operating across Nigeria will be formally proscribed. The Nigerian state must stop treating organised mass violence as ordinary crime.
“2.Prosecute every bandit, kidnapper, and collaborator under terrorism laws, with accelerated procedures through designated terrorism courts. Terrorism charges carry life imprisonment. The days of light sentences, quiet releases, and cases disappearing into endless judicial backlog are over.
“3.Dismantle the financial networks that keep terrorism alive. The EFCC and CBN will be directed from Day One to identify, freeze, and seize the assets of financiers, ransom collectors, arms suppliers, and money launderers. A joint financial intelligence and telecom surveillance task force will track ransom flows, criminal communications, and interstate kidnapping networks using modern technology and real-time intelligence sharing. You cannot aim to kill the foot soldiers while leaving the treasury intact.”
He also pledged to strengthen regional security cooperation, particularly with neighbouring countries such as Chad, Niger, Cameroon, and Benin, through the revival of the Multi-National Joint Task Force.
“4.End federal complicity in ransom payments and negotiated amnesties. Not one
