Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Christopher Musa, has attributed the persistence of terrorism, banditry, and insurgency in the country to the activities of local collaborators and financiers who provide support to criminal groups. Speaking at the 2026 edition of The Platform Nigeria, a national discourse organised as part of Democracy Day celebrations, Musa said security forces face significant challenges because criminal elements continue to receive assistance from members of the communities in which they operate.
According to the minister, insecurity cannot be effectively addressed without the active cooperation of citizens, stressing that the success of security operations depends largely on public support.
“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.
“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,” he stated.
Musa noted that security agencies have uncovered several cases where criminal groups were supplied with food, intelligence, and logistics that enabled them to sustain their activities.
“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 oxygen.
“Who is funding them? Who are those giving them information? Who are those providing the logistics that keep them going? It is still the people,” he argued.
The Defence Minister further explained that contemporary security threats differ from traditional warfare, where enemies are easily identifiable. He said the most dangerous situations arise when threats emerge from within communities.
“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,” he said.
According to him, “That individual whom you are protecting may be the number one enemy trying to take you out immediately when he gets the chance.”
Musa maintained that military action alone cannot eliminate insecurity, emphasizing the need for citizens to provide intelligence and expose individuals supporting criminal networks.
“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.
He also called on Nigerians to remain united and resist attempts by criminal elements to exploit existing ethnic, religious, and political differences.
“We must continue to work in unity because it is these gaps that exist between us that these individuals see and try to widen to separate and divide us, and we must not let that happen,” Musa said.
Meanwhile, former Senate President Bukola Saraki used the same platform to highlight the importance of legislative independence in strengthening democracy and ensuring accountability in governance.
Saraki cautioned against a situation where the legislature merely endorses executive decisions without proper scrutiny, describing such a parliament as ineffective in fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities.
“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 governor of Kwara State argued that an independent National Assembly should not be viewed as conflicting with the executive arm of government. Rather, he said, legislative oversight is essential for democratic credibility and public confidence.
“The independence of the National Assembly is not rebellion against the government of the day,” Saraki said.
“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”, he submitted.