Defence Minister Christopher Musa Says Nigeria Has Defeated Terrorists as Attacks Shift to Kidnapping
Abuja — Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retired), has declared that Nigeria has defeated terrorists operating within the country, insisting that attacks by extremist groups are no longer as frequent or brazen as they once were, even as he acknowledged that kidnapping has emerged as a more prominent security concern nationwide.
Musa made the declaration during an interview on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” programme, where he assessed the country’s overall security situation and the evolving nature of threats facing Nigerians. Responding directly to a question on whether the military had genuinely defeated terrorists or merely displaced them to other locations, the minister said the marked reduction in major terrorist attacks was clear evidence of significant progress. He explained that the broader trajectory of insecurity typically moves from criminality to kidnapping and then to full-scale terrorism and insurgency, arguing that sustained military pressure had pushed the situation back down that same scale, leaving the country now grappling primarily with abductions rather than large-scale terrorist offensives.
The minister described kidnapping as an increasingly social problem rather than a purely ideological or terrorism-driven one, citing troubling examples of family members turning against each other, including cases of spouses kidnapping one another and parents abducting their own children. He contrasted this with the ideological nature of terrorism, explaining that extremist groups typically indoctrinate followers into believing their actions are justified while portraying everyone outside their belief system as being in the wrong, a dynamic he said makes such groups particularly difficult to confront through conventional means.
On efforts to curb insecurity further, Musa renewed an appeal to politicians to stop distributing motorcycles as political palliatives, warning that such vehicles frequently end up in the hands of criminal and terrorist elements. He suggested that where such distributions are unavoidable, politicians should opt for lower-capacity motorcycles that would limit the mobility criminals could gain from them, thereby reducing their ability to move freely and evade security operatives.
The Defence Minister also touched on the ongoing national conversation around local government autonomy, arguing that the continued weakness and dysfunction of local government administrations across the country has contributed significantly to worsening insecurity, and stressed the importance of empowering local governments to function more effectively as part of the broader security architecture.
Turning to the political landscape ahead of the 2027 general election, Musa expressed confidence that insecurity would not derail President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign, maintaining that the overall security situation had improved considerably under the current administration compared to previous years.
Musa’s remarks come amid continued military operations against extremist and criminal networks across various parts of the country, even as recent developments, including reports of mass abductions in states such as Niger and Plateau, continue to test public confidence in the government’s broader security assurances ahead of next year’s election.
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