By TOSI ORE Human Impact, Intelligence and Institutional Fragility Lens 2025 proved that Nigeria’s war on terror was fought—but fragility, not firepower, became the country’s biggest enemy. The year began with measurable military outcomes but closed with deeper questions around intelligence failure, border porosity, forest-based insurgent mobility, […]
Intelligence Narrative, Public Perception, and Governance Gaps Shock in a Farming Community IN the aftermath of a U.S. airstrike intended for terrorist hideouts, the quiet village of Jabo has become an unexpected epicenter of fear, speculation, and public mistrust. Eyewitnesses described a projectile that flew overhead, exploded in farmland, and shook homes. The lack of […]
Domestic Debate Over U.S. Airstrikes Intensifies Gumi Reacts to U.S. Military ActionFOLLOWING airstrikes by the United States military on Islamist militants in Nigeria on 25 December, Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has called on the Federal Government to end cooperation with U.S. forces. In a detailed statement shared on Friday, Gumi cautioned that foreign military […]
By MAHMOOD MALIK MUSA (M.M.M.) IBRAHIM NORTHERN governors have approved a joint security plan that will see all 19 states contribute ₦1 billion each monthly for a year—amounting to ₦228 billion—to strengthen regional security operations and deploy advanced technology against banditry. Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule disclosed the decisions, explaining that the funds will support […]
By DAVID JOHN-FLUKE ACROSS the southern belt — from Oyo’s dense forests to the mangrove labyrinth of the Niger Delta — a new and unsettling reality has taken hold: bandit groups that once operated mainly in the North are pushing further south, probing borderlands, and testing weakly policed corridors. Investigations show […]
By TOSAN OYAKHILOME-AKAHOMEN NIGERIA has announced a sweeping new security strategy targeting terrorists, kidnappers and their sponsors, with the Senate advancing legislation that introduces the death penalty for perpetrators, financiers and informants. The plan also rejects negotiations with criminals, strengthens intelligence-driven operations, and tightens recruitment into the armed forces. The Senate on Wednesday passed for […]
By TOSAN OYAKHILOME-AKAHOMEN THE House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to publicly identify, sanction and prosecute all individuals and entities financing terrorism and banditry, insisting that transparency is essential to ending spiralling insecurity across Nigeria. The demand formed part of the House’s resolutions on national security reform following its three-day special plenary […]
By ABDUL AHMED (A.A.) RUFUS NIGERIA’S security crisis deepened last week as fresh kidnappings, killings, and coordinated raids across multiple states intensified pressure on President Bola Tinubu’s declared nationwide security emergency. From Kogi and Kwara to Kano, communities continue to reel amid attacks that highlight persistent vulnerabilities and rising public anxiety. In Kogi State, gunmen […]
By AMINA USMAN ABDULRAHMAN FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has shared insights from a private meeting he held with Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, following the cleric’s visits to bandit hideouts across Nigeria’s forests. Obasanjo said the discussion offered troubling revelations about the scale of insecurity and the level of fortification within the criminal camps. According […]
By SANI BATURE NORTHERN Nigeria is caught in a rapidly evolving security crisis driven by a loose but deadly coalition of bandits, foreign jihadists, armed herders, and criminal gangs. Stretching across Sokoto, Kwara, Kebbi, Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kogi, and Niger, these groups have carved out strongholds in forests, border corridors, and remote […]