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The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has challenged the declaration by Christopher Musa, the Minister of Defence, that the Federal Government has defeated terrorists and substantially improved Nigeria’s security situation.
Musa, in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said terrorist attacks were no longer as frequent or as brazen as they used to be, arguing that the country had moved from terrorism and insurgency to a lower stage of criminality and kidnapping.
‘Frankly speaking, we have defeated terrorists because now, as I said, the attacks are not as rampant and it is now kidnapping,’ the minister said.
He added, ‘I can tell you there is improved security. Maybe if you noticed, you don’t hear so much of Boko Haram attacks, ISWAP attacks and all these things here and there, maybe one-off.’
But the APM, in a statement signed by Abubakar Yusuf, its National Publicity Secretary, described Musa’s assessment as a dangerous distortion of the security situation confronting Nigerians.
The party accused the Tinubu administration of ‘living in denial’ and attempting to downplay a crisis that has continued to claim lives, fuel mass abductions and displace communities across the country.
‘APM condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the attempts by the Tinubu administration to downplay the worsening insecurity in the country,’ the party said.
The party said Nigeria was ranked the fourth most terrorism-impacted country in the 2026 Global Terrorism Index, moving up from sixth position in the previous edition.
It therefore questioned how the government could claim victory over terrorism while Nigerians continue to face killings, abductions, displacement and attacks.
‘It is deeply disappointing that a minister of the Federal Republic could appear on national television to make such claims at a time when millions of innocent Nigerians are being killed, kidnapped, displaced, and terrorised in various parts of the country,’ the APM said.
The opposition party also argued that Musa’s admission that kidnapping had become the dominant manifestation of the security crisis contradicted his declaration that the government had defeated terrorists.
Musa had explained that when terrorists were hit by security forces, the situation moved ‘back downwards’ to abductions and kidnapping because it was ‘the easiest way for them to try and raise money.’
But the APM said the distinction offered by the minister did little to comfort Nigerians whose relatives were being abducted and held for ransom.
‘The comments by the minister further expose the Tinubu administration’s insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians, who bear the pain of the daily killings, maiming, rape, abduction for ransom, and incarceration by bandits in dehumanising conditions in various parts of the nation,’ it said.
The party also cited data from SBM Intelligence showing that kidnapping had become a highly monetised criminal enterprise under the Tinubu administration, with more than N7.78 billion reportedly paid in ransom between July 2025 and June 2026.
The APM said it was particularly concerned about the continued abduction of vulnerable Nigerians, including women, children and the elderly.
‘More disheartening is that while families sorrow across the country, the Tinubu administration is waving off abduction, an act of terrorism, as ‘family affair,” the party alleged.