The All Progressives Congress and former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Adewole Adebayo, on Tuesday traded words over calls for President Bola Tinubu to resign following renewed concerns over worsening insecurity in the country.
Adebayo had, at the National Electoral Reforms Summit 2025 in Abuja, backed recent remarks by former United States President Donald Trump on killings in Nigeria, insisting that the Federal Government had failed in its constitutional duty of protecting lives.
“If your people are losing their lives in dozens, you have already failed the primary assignment of governance. The solution to that problem is that President Tinubu can use the bullet to kill the terrorists, or use his pen to resign,” Adewole said.
He also alleged that the rising wave of violence showed clear signs that some actors within the system are profiting from insecurity.
He warned against framing the crisis along religious or regional lines, saying: “There is no solution that can come from Trump or anybody who wants to help only one section of the country to survive insecurity without helping the other section. It is not possible. It should not become a Christian-Muslim debate. It is an insecurity question.”
Adebayo also accused the government of financial opportunism in the security sector.
“Our government should be ashamed. They should use that shame to solve the problem. Instead, they are using the security as an excuse to loot all the money,” he alleged.
He maintained that the armed forces have the capacity to restore order if allowed to operate professionally.
“The Nigerian Armed Forces, the way I know them, can protect the whole of West Africa, if you let them do it. But they cannot protect their own barracks, if you say they should not do it,” he said.
But reacting, the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Chidi Duru, dismissed the call as a personal opinion that does not reflect the will of the electorate.
“It is his own view, and he is entitled to his opinion. The mandate was given to the President by the majority of the electorate in Nigeria. Only the electorate has the authority and the capacity to make such a statement and bring it into effect,” Duru said.
“To all intents and purposes, it is his opinion. But that wish does not represent the majority of Nigerians.”
He added that the administration was not in denial of the security challenges and was taking steps to address them.
“It is important to again stress the point that the government is well aware of the existence of the issues that have to do with security in Nigeria and it is doing everything within its power to ensure the issue is addressed,” he said
“Again, rather than being chastised, the government should be encouraged and provided with relevant information where available to be able to tackle this insurgency.”
Duru assured that ongoing efforts to protect lives and property would become more visible “in the days, weeks, and months ahead.”
The exchange comes amid heightened diplomatic engagement between Abuja and Washington following Trump’s claims that Christian communities in Nigeria face an “existential threat,” a position the Nigerian government initially rejected before reopening discussions to clarify its stance.
Meanwhile, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Yusuf Ali, has warned that Nigeria’s national security policies are increasingly harming citizens instead of protecting them, turning the most vulnerable into victims of state action.
Ali made the point on Tuesday while delivering the keynote address titled “The Impact of National Security Policies on Vulnerable Populations: A Human Rights Perspective” at the Gavel International Annual Lecture and Awards 2025 in Lagos.
The SAN said the country’s counter-terrorism and law enforcement strategies had strayed from constitutional safeguards, resulting in “widespread violations of the very rights they were designed to protect.”
He lamented that the poor, women, children, and internally displaced persons have become the unintended casualties of Nigeria’s fight against terrorism, banditry, and separatist movements.
“The reality is that many of our security measures have turned citizens into victims,” he said.
“We have created a system where those we are meant to protect are displaced, detained, and stripped of dignity under the guise of national security,” he added.
He stressed that true security must rest on human dignity, rule of law, and social justice.
“Security cannot be achieved by force alone. It requires rights protection, economic empowerment, and strong democratic institutions. When the state fails to uphold justice or meet basic needs, insecurity will persist no matter how many troops are deployed,” he said.
Decrying the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria’s conflict zones, particularly in the North-East and Middle Belt, he said millions of displaced persons live in degrading conditions due to impunity and lack of accountability in security operations.
He faulted provisions in the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 that allow prolonged detention without trial, describing them as unconstitutional and contrary to Nigeria’s international obligations.
“Laws designed to fight terrorism should not themselves become tools of terror,” he warned. “We cannot detain people indefinitely or silence dissent in the name of protecting the state. The Constitution was made for both peace and crisis.”
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