*Challenges President, Defence Minister to travel by road without escorts

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has faulted the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the worsening security situation in the country, alleging that more than 600,000 Nigerians have been killed since the administration assumed office in May, 2023.

Accusing the President Tinubu administration of “living in denial” through downplaying the worsening insecurity in the country, the party challenged the President and Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd.) to travel by road without armed security escorts to prove that the nation’s security situation has improved.

The APM National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, said in a statement on Saturday that no fewer than 2.2 million Nigerians, including women and children, had been abducted during the period under review.

The party was reacting to recent comments attributed to General Musa that the security situation in Nigeria had improved under the Tinubu administration.

According to the APM, the Minister’s claim was at variance with the reality confronting Nigerians across the country, as well as reports by international organisations on terrorism and insecurity.

General Musa, the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), had said during an appearance on Channels TV on Tuesday that the federal government had “defeated terrorists” while claiming that kidnapping had been decimated to a point where it had become more of a “social ill” than a wider security concern.

“Frankly speaking, we have defeated terrorists because now, like I said, the attacks are not as rampant and it is now kidnapping. Like I said, kidnapping is a social ill where you now see wives kidnapping husbands and husbands kidnapping children”, he responded to a question.

The Minister went on: “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. Now, I say, the trajectory is this: from criminality to kidnapping to terrorism, insurgency; once you are able to hit them, it goes back downwards.

“So, we are now back into the stage of abductions and kidnappings because that is the easiest way for them to try and raise money.”

However, APM cited the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2026, which it claimed ranked Nigeria as the fourth most insecure country in the world, compared with sixth position in the previous edition.

The APM described the minister’s assertion that insecurity had improved as a “dangerous distortion of reality,” arguing that Nigerians continued to contend with killings, kidnappings, displacement, rape and other forms of violence.

It said: “APM finds it 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 opposition party further accused the administration of being insensitive to the plight of families affected by insecurity, alleging that communities across the country had continued to suffer attacks by terrorists, bandits and kidnappers.

It also cited data attributed to SBM Intelligence, claiming that Nigerians paid more than N7.78 billion in ransom between July 2025 and June 2026, describing kidnapping for ransom as a highly monetised criminal enterprise.

The party expressed particular concern over alleged mass abductions in Niger State, claiming that about 600 persons, mostly women, children and elderly people, were abducted from Dekera, Gidan-Zana and Sabon Gida villages.

The APM said the alleged victims remained in captivity, while accusing the Federal Government of failing to adequately address the security crisis.

The party further criticised what it described as attempts by government officials to downplay abductions, alleging that the administration had at some point dismissed such incidents as a “family affair.”

It said the development demonstrated a disconnect between the government and the realities faced by ordinary Nigerians.

“If the security situation has truly improved as the administration claims, the APM challenges the President, the Minister of Defence and other senior officials of the Tinubu Presidency to travel by road without armed security details as other Nigerians must do,” the statement said.

The party maintained that the worsening security situation was evidence of the government’s inability to develop and implement an effective strategy to tackle terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.

It argued that Nigeria could not afford another four years of what it described as an “incompetent administration,” urging voters to support its presidential candidate, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, in the 2027 election.

According to the APM, Makinde has developed a blueprint capable of addressing insecurity and other challenges confronting the country.

The party urged Nigerians not to despair but to remain committed to changing the government through the ballot, insisting that the Tinubu administration’s tenure would end on May 29, 2027.