Concerned Nigerians warn of national security collapse, demand urgent presidential taskforce

A coalition of concerned Nigerians has warned that the country is on the brink of national security collapse, urging President Bola Tinubu to immediately establish a Presidential Taskforce on National Security to halt the escalating violence.

In a joint statement signed by Osita Chidoka, Frank Nweke Jnr, Kadaria Ahmed, Tonye Cole, Jamila Bio Ibrahim, Sergius Ogun, Ismaeel Ahmed, Sam Amadi, Opeyemi Adamolekun, and others, on Sunday, the group, drawn from across the country’s six geopolitical zones, decried the scale of killings, citing Amnesty International figures that put the number of violent deaths in Nigeria at 10,217 over the past two years. They noted that the level of bloodshed rivals civilian casualties in global conflict zones such as Ukraine, Gaza, and Syria.

The statement highlighted widespread devastation: 6,896 people killed and over 450,000 displaced in Benue State, 2,630 killed in Plateau, and more than 600 villages sacked in Zamfara. It also cited the resurgence of Boko Haram in the North East and persistent violence by armed groups in the South East.

“The Nigerian state has surrendered its monopoly on the legitimate use of force,” the statement declared. “What began as local disputes has morphed into sectarian wars and criminal fiefdoms, fueled by weapons, poverty, and impunity.”

The group called for a time-bound, independent, and results-driven Presidential Taskforce with extraordinary powers to coordinate security agencies, disarm armed groups, reintegrate displaced persons, and issue quarterly public reports to restore confidence.

It cautioned against ethnic scapegoating, stressing that attackers come from various communities across the country. “This is a Nigerian problem with Nigerian faces. Justice must be blind to identity,” the statement read.

Drawing from global examples in Rwanda, Colombia, and Northern Ireland, the group urged political, traditional, and religious figures to confront hard truths and build consensus for peace.

“Nigeria stands on a knife-edge,” the statement warned. “History will not judge the bandits. It will judge us who had the power to protect, and either rose to this moment or shrank from it.”

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