ABUJA, NIGERIA — In a sharp reaction to the worsening security situation across the federation, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has urgently called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a formal state of emergency on national security. The opposition leader argued that extraordinary measures are now required to decisively neutralize the expanding network of terrorism and banditry that continues to paralyze various regions of the country.
Atiku's demand was contained in a strongly worded public statement released by his media office on Wednesday night. The call was specifically prompted by a recent, violent insurgent assault on a school in Kogi State, an incident that has sent shockwaves through the north-central region. The former Vice President characterized the targeted attack as an unacceptable assault on the country’s educational infrastructure and a fundamental threat to overall national development.
Expressing deep concern over the safety of learning environments in Nigeria, Atiku noted that the targeting of educational facilities no longer appears to be random. Instead, he warned of a highly calculated, destructive pattern designed to dismantle the nation's fragile educational framework.
According to the ADC candidate, the psychological toll of these recurring disruptions is profound. He emphasized that attacks on schools foster persistent fear, anxiety, and trauma, making it increasingly impossible for students to learn and for instructors to teach effectively. He further warned that an attack on a single school cannot be viewed as an isolated local crisis, as the resulting anxiety ripples across geographic boundaries, creating a sense of insecurity among families and school administrators nationwide.
"It is high time the Federal Government declared a state of emergency on security," Atiku stated. "Such a declaration has become necessary to empower our field commanders with the structural and legal freedom required to act proactively and decisively against these monsters threatening our collective survival."
Elaborating on his proposal, the former Vice President clarified that his call for a state of emergency should not be misinterpreted as a political move to unseat democratically elected public officials or suspend civilian administration. Rather, he emphasized that the declaration should serve as a specialized administrative and legislative mechanism designed to streamline military command structures.
Atiku argued that the primary bottleneck impeding the country's defense apparatus is political interference in tactical operations. He maintained that military commanders must be granted total operational freedom to make rapid, high-stakes battlefield decisions based on real-time intelligence rather than waiting for bureaucratic approval from political leaders in Abuja. By granting greater tactical autonomy to field officers, the armed forces would be equipped to transition from a reactive posture to a highly effective, proactive combat strategy.
"Schools can only function effectively in a safe environment. We cannot stand by and watch terrorism systematically slow our country's educational progress." — Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, ADC Presidential Candidate
Recognizing that Nigeria's traditional security architecture is facing unprecedented strain, Atiku proposed a structural reform to augment the country's defense capabilities. He advocated for the immediate creation of a National Guard, which would operate as an elite intermediary force.
Under his proposed framework, this new security tier would primarily recruit healthy, highly trained retired military and paramilitary personnel. The National Guard would be strategically deployed to handle internal security stabilization, guard critical national infrastructure, and protect vulnerable communities. This arrangement would allow the regular Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force—both of which are severely overstretched across multiple combat theaters—to focus their resources on high-intensity counter-terrorism operations.
In addition to structural reforms, the ADC presidential candidate emphasized that the war against terrorism cannot be won solely through kinetic military operations. He asserted that a robust, multi-layered intelligence gathering system remains the most effective weapon against asymmetric warfare.
To achieve this, Atiku appealed directly to local communities across Nigeria to actively cooperate with state security agencies by consistently volunteering actionable information. He noted that bandits and terrorists live within or near human settlements, making local intelligence an invaluable asset. He concluded by urging the Tinubu administration to establish stronger institutional trust between local populations and the security forces to ensure seamless information sharing, adding that a unified national front is the only way to permanently dismantle criminal networks across the country.
