“They’re prodigal sons” – CDS Oluyede
“They’re our brothers” – NAS Ribadu
No one is in doubt about the severity of insecurity in the country. It’s getting worse by the the day, with the criminal non state actors seeming to be winning the battle, as it seems.
The development is sad according to observers and analysts.
In recent weeks, attacks of monumental proportion have ricocheted to unbelievable height; even at Defence Minister Gen. Christopher Musa’s (ret) own backyard – Southern Kaduna and other military formations, especially in Maiduguri, where an assault by Boko Haram led to the death of Brigadier General Omoh Oseni Braimah in controversial circumstances.
Though the military high command has repeatedly said there was no sabotage or intrigue to the death in the death but hushed discussion in knowledgeable circles seem to point to deep distrust in the military as to the high possibility of fifth columnists.
Many observers contend that insecurity has reached a critical, escalating, and widely reported level in recent weeks (March–April 2026), largely defined by widespread kidnappings, banditry, and killings across multiple regions, particularly in the North-West, North-Central, and parts of the South-West.
Rising incidents
Media reports indicate an increase in mass abductions, with over 1,100 people kidnapped in Northern Nigeria within three months (January–April 2026), according to Amnesty International.
There has been a surge in kidnapping for ransom which has become a daily occurrence, affecting travellers, farmers, and students. A recent report documented over 1,100 kidnappings in three months.
In North Central and North West especially armed bandits have repeatedly killed and abducted innocent Nigerians in Kaduna, Niger, Kwara, and Plateau states causing significant loss of lives and displacement of thousands. In Benue state, protests erupted over persistent, recurring attacks.
A report noted that an underreported mass killings in the past weeks
hover between 130 to 300 people across the North-Central region, specifically in Kwara, Benue, and Plateau states, in attacks that often do not make national headlines.
There has also been rising cases of a targeting of security personnel and officials. Gunmen have recently killed soldiers in Borno , leading to the death of high ranking and middle ranking officers. In a severe breach in Borno State (Ngoshe), Boko Haram militants reportedly overpowered soldiers, abducting over 100 women and children.
In the South-West, particularly Ondo and Oyo states, residents have protested increasing banditry and the killing of farmers, with many farmers afraid to visit their fields.
Bandits in the northwest have disrupted farming and destroyed livestock, worsening food insecurity and forcing many villagers to abandon their land.
This state of persistent failure of the state to protect life and property has created millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and created a sense of “insecurity fatigue” among citizens.
Normalization of Violence
Dr. Ayinde Ibrahim, a security scholar told Business Hallmark that “The frequency of violent incidents has led to a normalization of violence and a reduction in public outrage, creating a “transactional economy of fear” where residents pay “sovereignty taxes” to criminals.
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has expressed deep concern over the killing of army personnel during an attack on the military base in Benisheikh, Borno State, the attack on a poultry farm in Ondo State and killings and abductions in Plateau, Kwara, Niger and Kaduna states, among others.
This was contained in a statement released by its national publicity secretary, Jare Ajayi, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Friday.
Afenifere lamented that incidents also occurred in Vole community in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State and in some communities in Kwara and Niger states, all happening around the same time.
These concerns are in reaction to the reports that the Commanding Officer of the Benisheikh Military Base, Brigadier General Oseni Braimah, was killed two Thursdays ago, just as military bases in Pulka and Munguno were also attacked.
In a similar vein, a poultry farm in Igushi Ala, Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo state, was attacked, with the poultry farmer and her daughter killed while three workers, including the farmer’s sister, were abducted.
It would also be recalled that a few weeks ago, kidnappers attacked the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria in Ibadan and abducted five people from Abeokuta, Ogun state, while rustlers and bandits carried out attacks in the Oke-Ogun and Ibarapa areas of Oyo state.
No Hiding Place
Attacks on Benue, Katsina and Plateau have been raising serious concern, prompting President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Plateau State last week. Reviewing the various acts of banditry and terrorism occurring across the country, Ajayi submitted that insecurity in Nigeria has worsened due to a number of factors, including internal sabotage and complicity among security agencies, collusion between bandits and some locals in certain communities, possible sponsorship by foreign interests eyeing Nigeria’s mineral resources, and possible complicity by political actors.
He said, “For instance, as far back as May, 2025, Borno State, Governor Babagana Zulum had, in a television interview, declared that: We have informants and collaborators within the Nigerian armed forces, within the politicians, and within the communities. Let’s remove contractocracy. In six months, we can put an end to this madness. We need not politicise insecurity.
“The current Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, too, then, in his capacity as Chief of Defence Staff, disclosed that some military personnel have been betraying the army by leaking vital information to bandits.
“He spoke during his visit to Yetwata in Benue state in June 2025, following the massacre of many people and burning of houses in the communities around that area. He had said: If you see the pattern of killings and slaughtering, it means there is an insider. As we were going round, it became obvious that the killings and burnings were targeted.”
Ajayi called on the relevant authorities to scrutinise their internal mechanisms and address the elements he identified, including internal sabotage, collusion with locals, foreign interests, and unscrupulous political actors.
“How terrorists struck in the government secondary, Maga, Kebbi state, a few hours after the military withdrew from the school, as also happened in Woro in Kwara state, could be referenced here. Thus, it is high time that greater self-examination is done and necessary steps taken if the war against insecurity in Nigeria is to be won.”
Criminal Brothers
The near consensus of many that spoke to this medium is that the federal government has adopted conciliatory approach to tackling insecurity, a position many criticize as deeply embedded in politics of 2027. Opposition leaders, such as Peter Obi have criticized the federal government for being “distracted” by political events and failing to protect lives and property.
The argument is that government rhetorics of zero tolerance and hammer on the heads of terrorists is hardly matched by action.
Calls for Action: Residents, particularly in the North and in Ondo State, have staged protests, demanding more effective, properly equipped security interventions.
Government Defence: The Federal Government has countered that it is tackling the insecurity through coordinated military operations, with Information Minister Mohammed Idris stating that “large-scale insurgent control” has decreased, and that intelligence and rapid response systems are being strengthened, despite reported setbacks.
In the BBC Hausa Service interview, Gen Musa said:
“Government is involving a non-kinetic approaches to solve terrorism. Is a peace deal one of the ways?
No. Peace deal with terrorists is never one of our non-kinetic means. The terrorists don’t respect pecan deals. It is a camouflage. It is only when they are looking for something, and if you trust them they will renegade and later attack you.
The peace deal the people and some state government are going into with bandits is spoiling our work at the federal level. They are doing that and people are saying they should not touch the bandits because they are in a peace deal with them, but the bandits continue to kill people.
We have told all the local or state Governments that are into peace deals with bandits to stop. You know this is a democracy not a military rule where we can take unilateral decisions. But we continue to take to the local and state governments on this
Ahmed Yekini Alao, a civil servant told Business Hallmark that “They have this list this while and they refused to prosecute them. It’s about 2027.Human lives mean nothing to these politicians.
There are reports of billion paid in ransom to these terrorists.
Perhaps, the greatest indictment of the administration thinking on terrorists came from the chief of defence staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, who described the terrorists as ” Our Prodigal Sons”, who should be given a chance to come back to the society instead of killing them.
General Oluyede likened Boko Haram terrorists to the biblical “prodigal son” in March 2026, arguing they deserve rehabilitation and a chance to repent rather than just being killed. He stated that as Nigerians, they should be offered a window for repentance, a comment that has sparked widespread debate over security policies.
This remarks which were seen as obnoxious conciliatory attitude to terror, which has further emboldened them were made at an Armed Forces lecture in Abuja, where he defended the Operation Safe Corridor initiative, which rehabilitates former insurgents.
Oluyede referenced the biblical story, suggesting that if not given a chance to return, they might continue their violent actions.
The statement caused significant controversy, with critics questioning the leniency shown to those who have killed and displaced thousands, comparing it to the government’s duty to protect citizens.
Oluyede, who became CDS in October 2025, defended the move as a way to weaken the insurgency through reconciliation rather than solely through military force.
The Defence Headquarters have denied the idea of internal sabotage with respect to the recent incident in Borno.
In a stern press release it said that “The Headquarters Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) has noted with serious concern the circulation of false, misleading and highly exaggerated reports across some television stations and social media platforms following the recent foiled terrorist attack on troops’ location in Benisheikh. These narratives, often amplified with unrelated pictures and videos, are not only inaccurate but constitute a deliberate attempt to distort facts, undermine ongoing military operations and erode public confidence.
OPHK categorically refutes the claim that 17 soldiers, including a Brigade Commander, lost their lives during the incident. The official and verified report, as earlier released through Defence Headquarters, clearly stated that 2 officers and 2 soldiers paid the supreme price in the course of the engagement. Any contrary figure being circulated is entirely false, misleading, and devoid of credibility.
The insinuation that the Brigade Commander’s vehicle was unserviceable is equally incorrect. The Commander was mounted on a high-grade Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, which was temporarily immobilised in the heat of combat while he was actively coordinating the counter-assault. This reflects the intensity of the engagement and the presence of leadership at the decisive point, not any equipment failure. Furthermore, the pictures and videos being circulated in connection with the incident are unrelated to the Benisheikh attack and are being deliberately misrepresented to reinforce false narratives. The public is urged to disregard such content, which is clearly intended to misinform and create unnecessary panic.