The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has challenged President Bola Tinubu and Defence Minister Christopher Musa to travel by road without armed security escorts if they maintain that Nigeria’s security situation has improved.
The party said insecurity should not be judged solely by government briefings or official statistics, arguing that Nigerians experience the crisis through the fear of travelling, abductions and the uncertainty faced by families whose loved ones fail to return home.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, the APM accused the Tinubu administration of being out of touch with the security challenges confronting Nigerians. The party also criticised Musa for his reported claim that the country’s security situation had improved.
According to the APM, the government’s position is at odds with what it described as Nigeria’s poor ranking in the 2026 Global Terrorism Index (GTI). The party claimed that Nigeria ranked fourth among the world’s most insecure countries in the latest index, compared with sixth place in the 2025 ranking.
Yusuf said the minister’s comments demonstrated what the party described as the administration’s insensitivity to Nigerians affected by killings, abductions, rape, maiming and other forms of violence.
The APM further alleged that more than 600,000 Nigerians had been killed and at least 2.2 million people, including women and children, abducted since the Tinubu administration came into office. These figures are allegations made by the party and were not independently established in its statement.
The party also referred to the reported abduction of about 600 people from Dekera, Gidan-Zana and Sabon Gida communities in Niger State the previous week. It said many of those abducted were women, children and elderly people who remained in captivity.
On ransom payments, the APM cited figures attributed to SBM Intelligence, claiming that more than N7.78 billion was paid in ransom between July 2025 and June 2026. The party argued that the figures showed kidnapping for ransom had developed into a highly commercialised criminal enterprise.
The party also criticised the government’s reported description of some abductions as a “family affair”, saying such incidents should instead be treated as acts of terrorism requiring a decisive government response.
Yusuf accused the administration of either being disconnected from the realities facing Nigerians or deliberately attempting to shape public perception by downplaying the scale of insecurity.
“Our party is disturbed that the administration is either dangerously disconnected from reality or is deliberately attempting to manipulate public perception by denying the actual situation in the country,” he said.
The APM said the worsening security situation reflected what it described as the government’s failure to develop and implement an effective strategy to tackle the crisis. It warned that Nigeria could not afford another four years under what it called an ineffective administration.
Looking ahead to the 2027 elections, the party urged Nigerians not to lose hope and called on voters to support its presidential candidate, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde.
Yusuf said Makinde had a blueprint aimed at addressing insecurity and other challenges facing the country, while accusing the Tinubu administration of worsening the situation.
The APM’s comments come amid continued political debate over the state of security in Nigeria, with the government facing pressure to demonstrate tangible improvements in the fight against terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.
