Atiku faults Tinubu’s anti-terror strategy, calls for urgent review of counterterrorism policy

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Federal Government’s approach to combating terrorism, arguing that Nigeria’s security architecture has failed to evolve despite the growing sophistication of terrorist groups, bandits and kidnappers.

In a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Mr Atiku questioned why terrorist groups appear capable of learning from previous attacks and adapting their tactics while government responses remain largely unchanged.

According to him, the continued spread of terrorism, banditry and kidnapping from the North to other parts of the country demonstrates that Nigeria’s current counterterrorism framework is no longer adequate to address emerging security threats.

“The terrorists are learning from every attack. They study their successes and failures. They refine their tactics, identify vulnerabilities, adapt and strike again. The question Nigerians must ask is simple: why isn’t the government doing the same?” he said.

The former vice president lamented what he described as a recurring pattern in the country’s response to security crises, noting that attacks are often followed by public outrage, official promises and committee formations, only for similar incidents to occur again.

He argued that Nigeria could no longer afford a business-as-usual approach to security and called for an urgent review of the National Counterterrorism Policy to reflect the realities of a threat environment that is becoming increasingly sophisticated, decentralised and geographically widespread.

Mr Atiku said Nigeria’s counterterrorism efforts have relied heavily on centrally designed and largely foreign-inspired frameworks that fail to adequately incorporate lessons from communities directly affected by terrorist violence.

According to him, one of the greatest shortcomings of the current strategy is the inability of government institutions to systematically learn from past attacks and use those lessons to prevent future incidents.

He cited the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls and subsequent kidnappings of students and teachers in different parts of the country as evidence that critical lessons from previous tragedies have not been effectively applied.

“We ought to have drawn critical lessons and early warning indicators from Chibok and other similar incidents to ensure that recent abductions and attacks never happened again,” he stated.

As part of his recommendations, Mr Atiku proposed the establishment of a Terrorism Violence Peer Review Mechanism, which he said would provide a structured platform for communities, local leaders, security personnel and other stakeholders to share experiences, document lessons and contribute to national security planning.

He argued that such a mechanism would strengthen grassroots intelligence gathering, improve early warning systems, enhance community resilience and deepen collaboration between citizens and security agencies.

The former vice president also called for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture through a multi-layered strategy that prioritises intelligence gathering, technology, community participation and the disruption of terrorist financing networks.

According to him, military operations alone cannot defeat terrorism without intelligence superiority and coordinated efforts to dismantle the networks that fund, equip and shelter criminal groups.

He urged the government to invest heavily in intelligence gathering, surveillance technology, aerial monitoring systems, communication interception capabilities and data-driven threat analysis.

Mr Atiku further advocated the establishment of specialised Counterterrorism Fusion Centres in each geopolitical zone to facilitate real-time intelligence sharing among the military, police, State Security Service, SSS, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, immigration authorities, customs officials, local vigilante groups and community leaders.

He also highlighted the need to strengthen border security, warning that Nigeria’s porous borders have become channels for the movement of terrorists, arms traffickers and transnational criminal networks.

Beyond security operations, Mr Atiku argued that terrorism thrives in environments characterised by poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and weak governance.

He called for increased investment in education, youth employment, rural development and rehabilitation programmes in vulnerable communities, stressing that preventing radicalisation is more effective and less costly than combating insurgency after it has taken root.

The former vice president also proposed the creation of a National Victims and Survivors Support Framework to provide psychosocial support, educational opportunities, rehabilitation assistance and economic recovery programmes for victims of terrorist attacks.

“A nation that fails to care for victims of terrorism inadvertently strengthens the objectives of terrorists. We must ensure that victims are not forgotten once the headlines disappear,” he said.

Mr Atiku further criticised what he described as a lack of transparency in the management of counterterrorism funding, noting that despite trillions of naira allocated to defence and security over the years, many Nigerians feel less secure today than they did a decade ago.

According to him, the country’s security challenges reflect not only resource constraints but also failures in strategy, coordination, accountability and leadership.

He called on the Federal Government to immediately constitute a high-level technical committee to review and update the National Counterterrorism Policy and establish the proposed Terrorism Violence Peer Review Mechanism.

Mr Atiku stressed that the protection of lives and property remains the primary responsibility of government and urged the Tinubu administration to implement reforms capable of restoring public confidence in Nigeria’s ability to defeat terrorism and secure its citizens.

He maintained that the country needs a proactive, evidence-based and transparent counterterrorism framework rooted in Nigeria’s unique experiences and realities rather than one driven by complacency and outdated approaches.