Nigeria is facing an escalating wave of violent attacks and mass kidnappings, drawing global scrutiny and forcing a renewed examination of the nation’s security architecture. Armed groups are increasingly overwhelming security formations, leaving behind devastating casualties that heighten public fear and diminish trust in government capacity. Reflecting international concern, former U.S. President Donald Trump recently alleged that Nigeria is tolerating a “Christian genocide,” a controversial statement but one that underscores the rising global alarm.

Domestically, frustration is equally palpable. At the Plateau Unity Christmas and Praise Festival in Jos on November 28, 2025, former President Olusegun Obasanjo challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to decisively dismantle the bandit networks terrorizing communities. Obasanjo warned that, should government fail, Nigerians may be forced to seek external assistance, an indictment of the country’s deteriorating security environment.

Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended makes clear that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” Meeting this obligation requires a coherent national security framework capable of coordinating the country’s response to violent non state actors.

A National Call for Overhauling Nigeria’s Security Architecture

Nigeria’s worsening security challenges have triggered intensified calls for a comprehensive overhaul of the national security architecture. In recent weeks, both chambers of the National Assembly, Kebbi State Governor Idris Nasir, Afenifere, and former PDP Chairman Tanimu Turaki have emphasized the urgent need for structural reforms.

In response, the Federal Government has set up a National Economic Council Committee to assess security training institutions in the North and South within 30 days. President Tinubu also declared a State of Emergency on national security and urged the National Assembly to amend the Constitution to allow states to establish their own police.

However, many security experts view these actions as reactive and insufficiently strategic. The measures fail to fully address long standing structural gaps detailed in the National Security Strategy NSS, the foundation of Nigeria’s security architecture. Notably, no clear plan accompanied the emergency declaration, leaving important implementation questions unanswered.

The NSS guides the National Defence Policy which mandates the Armed Forces to defend the nation from external aggression, safeguard territorial integrity, protect all borders, and suppress internal disorder in support of civil authorities.

A critical yet overlooked question remains: Are Nigeria’s security forces struggling due to structural deficits, or due to inconsistent implementation of existing policies? If the foundational strategy is weak or not followed, as the Scriptural paraphrase suggests, what can the soldiers do? Examining Nigeria’s existing security policies is essential to identifying what should be implemented faithfully, refined, or replaced.

Foundations of Nigeria’s National Security Strategy

Nigeria’s security framework, formal and evolving, addresses insurgency, internal threats, and external aggression through a multi layered system involving military, policing, intelligence, and socio economic elements. This is why the Defence Headquarters often references a combination of kinetic and non kinetic approaches.

National Defence Policy NDP

Revised in 2017, the NDP outlines Nigeria’s defence priorities including:

  • Counterterrorism and counterinsurgency
  • Regional defence cooperation
  • Maritime and cyber security
  • Modernization of security agencies
  • Peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance
  • Civil military relations

Its approach blends military preparedness with deterrence, diplomacy, and international cooperation.

No photo description available.

National Counter Terrorism Strategy NACTEST

First published in 2014 and revised in 2016, NACTEST adopts a whole of government, whole of society structure. The strategy rests on five pillars:

  1. Forestall – prevent radicalisation
  2. Secure – enhance protection
  3. Identify – detect and preempt threats
  4. Reduce – mitigate impacts
  5. Implement – coordinate responses

The National Counter Terrorism Centre NCTC leads implementation and emphasizes interagency collaboration and civil engagement.

National Policy on Public Safety and Security NPPSS

The NPPSS focuses on crime prevention, human rights protection, justice reform, and emergency preparedness. Though it supports community policing, it does not authorize state police.

Key priorities include:

  • Strengthening law enforcement
  • Improving justice administration
  • Enhancing crime prevention systems
  • Implementing Safe Schools policies
  • Improving intelligence infrastructure

Nigeria’s Use of Kinetic and Non Kinetic Measures

Nigeria employs a mix of kinetic and non kinetic strategies against Boko Haram, ISWAP, and armed bandits.

Kinetic Approaches

These involve the direct application of force, military deployments, air strikes, and offensive operations. However, they come with major limitations:

  • High financial and human costs
  • Constraints in densely populated civilian areas
  • Limited effectiveness in forested or inaccessible terrains

Defence Minister Badaru Abubakar recently noted that some bandit camps cannot be directly targeted due to the presence of civilians or environmental barriers that limit effective bombing.

Non Kinetic Approaches

These include diplomacy, amnesty programmes, community engagement, socio economic interventions, and de radicalisation efforts. Operation Safe Corridor is a notable example.

Yet the non kinetic approach carries risks:

  • Some “repentant” fighters return to terrorism
  • Infiltration of military units by former insurgents
  • Declining morale among soldiers who view amnesty as unjust

I Will Do All Within My Powers To Equip, Arm The Military – Tinubu • Channels Television

Key Challenges Undermining Nigeria’s Security Response

  1. Non Kinetic Measures Fueling Terrorism

Rather than weakening terrorists, ransom payments and amnesty programmes have in many cases strengthened them. With billions of naira paid in ransoms, terrorists have expanded their networks, purchased sophisticated weapons, and recruited more fighters. Kidnapping for ransom has become a lucrative enterprise.

  1. Fragmented National Security Framework

Despite having robust policy documents, Nigeria faces structural impediments:

  • weak interagency coordination
  • overlapping mandates and institutional rivalry
  • poor implementation
  • inadequate funding and slow procurement
  1. Weak Local Governance and Intelligence Systems

Insecurity is exacerbated by:

  • large ungoverned rural spaces
  • dysfunctional local governments
  • ineffective community policing
  • distrust between citizens and security agencies

Without reliable local intelligence, federal level strategies cannot succeed.

Nigeria's defence chief, Gen Christopher Musa, claims he will defeat terrorism in two years - Naijiant

What President Tinubu Can Do Within Current Constraints

Despite constitutional limitations, particularly around policing, the President retains considerable executive authority to drive meaningful reform. Key steps include:

  • Issuing executive orders to improve intelligence sharing
  • Enforcing full implementation of NSS and NACTEST
  • Revitalizing the police through recruitment, training, equipment, and community policing
  • Strengthening border security with technology
  • Fast tracking judicial reforms and establishing terrorism courts
  • Deploying targeted socio economic interventions in high risk regions
  • Building consensus for state police
  • Ensuring transparency and accountability in security spending

Conclusion

Nigeria’s security crisis reflects deep structural weaknesses and gaps in policy execution. While constitutional limits restrict federal control over some areas, significant progress remains possible through coordinated leadership, institutional reforms, and strengthened collaboration between federal and state actors.

Lasting peace requires more than political will, it demands structural reforms, shared responsibility across all levels of government, and national consensus on decentralizing security. Nigeria’s stability ultimately depends on aligning policy implementation with the realities of twenty first century security threats.

 

This analysis is written and published by the Public Affairs Practice of CMC Connect LLP

  • Email: publicaffairs@cmcconnect.com
  • Editor in Chief – Yomi Badejo-Okusanya
  • Editor – Adetola Odusote
  • Writer/Lead Analysts – Henrietta Nsa, Sylvester Ugwuanyi
  • Graphics– CMC Connect LLP Creative Team: James Ibukun, Ayomide Omole