Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd.), has stated that the ongoing battle against terrorism, banditry, and insurgency persists because criminal networks continue to receive critical backing from their sponsors and select members of the public.
He noted that terrorists and bandits are heavily dependent on local accomplices for sustenance, intelligence, logistics, and financing. He cautioned that overcoming insecurity will remain a monumental challenge until everyday citizens collectively choose to reject and expose those aiding these criminal elements.
The Defence Minister shared these insights on Friday during the 2026 edition of The Platform Nigeria, an annual national discourse organized to commemorate Democracy Day.
Hosted by Poju Oyemade, the Senior Pastor and Founder of The Covenant Nation, the event focused on the theme, “Governance, Democracy and National Security.”
During his address, Musa emphasized that meaningful strides against insecurity can only materialize when Nigerians actively stand by security forces and block any form of aid to criminals. He explained that the complexity of the fight against terrorism, insurgency, and banditry stems from the reality that many individuals keeping these syndicates alive operate directly from within local communities.
“Everything revolves around the people. If the people are ready and willing to make changes, changes will occur. If the people are not willing, nothing will happen,” he said.
“I can tell you that with what is going on with the challenges we have in the country, banditry, insurgency and terrorism, why does it seem so difficult to deal with them? Perhaps, we have people who are also encouraging and supporting these things because the terrorists and bandits survive among the people.”
The minister pointed out that security forces have uncovered numerous instances where locals assisted criminal groups by providing food, water, and strategic information to keep their operations running.
“There are several stories of how people have aided them by giving them food, water and information, and these are the things that keep them going. We call this the oxygen. Who are those funding them? Who are those giving them information? Who are those providing the logistics that keep them going? It is still the people,” Musa said.
He further observed that contemporary security threats differ vastly from traditional state-to-state warfare, where the adversary is clearly defined. In unconventional warfare, the enemy frequently blends into the exact communities security operatives are deployed to defend.
“Conventional warfare in the past used to be state-to-state, country-to-country, so you know who your enemy is. The most dangerous aspect of battles or campaigns is when the enemy is within. That individual whom you are protecting may be the number one enemy trying to take you out immediately he gets the chance,” he stated.
Musa reiterated that no matter how much the armed forces and allied security agencies sacrifice, their breakthroughs will hit a ceiling without the proactive cooperation of the populace.
“It is important for us to always remember that the armed forces and the security agencies, no matter what they do, if the people are not ready to support them, it makes the task extremely difficult,” he added.
Additionally, the minister called for national unity, warning that terrorists and criminals routinely weaponize societal fault lines to fracture national cohesion and advance their malicious agendas.
“We must continue to work in unity because it is these gaps that exist between us that these individuals see and try to widen in order to separate and divide us, and we must not let that happen,” Musa said.
Sharing the stage at the national event, former Senate President Bukola Saraki highlighted the critical role an independent legislature plays in preserving democracy and driving institutional accountability.
Saraki contended that a parliament that simply rubber-stamps executive proposals without meticulous review fails its constitutional duties and undermines democratic integrity.
“A legislature that cannot say no is not a legislature at all. A legislature that simply receives executive proposals, approves them without scrutiny and goes home has not fulfilled its constitutional mandate. It has merely performed a ceremonial function,” he said.
The former lawmaker further maintained that legislative independence should never be misconstrued as a hostility toward the executive arm, but rather as an essential mechanism for democratic legitimacy.
“The independence of the National Assembly is not rebellion against the government of the day. If the National Assembly is independent, it is the very thing that makes the government legitimate because a mandate that is never tested is a mandate that no one can trust,” Saraki said.
