Pastor Tunde Bakare, the presiding overseer of the Global Community Citadel Church, has flayed the myriads of challenges facing Nigeria, alleging that the country is descending into tyranny under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Bakare, in his state of the nation broadcast yesterday, condemned the spate of recent attacks in Edo, Benue, Plateau, Zamfara, Borno and other states.
He said communities are now forming “poorly trained, poorly equipped and unprofessional militias, with some taking the law into their own hands” due to the loss of faith in the capacity of the government to guarantee their security.
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Bakare was among the aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who lost the party’s presidential primaries to Tinubu in 2022.
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He was also the running mate to Muhammadu Buhari during the 2011 presidential election.
Bakare yesterday described the security situation in the country as a dangerous trajectory and called for a holistic reform of the national security architecture.
According to him, the national security problems point to fundamental structural defect designed by the constitution.
He stated that the country must rethink the security philosophy to one that protects Nigerians from one that protects government officials.
‘Nigeria needs zonal security councils’
He reiterated that Nigeria must reinstate national security federalism by activating constitutional procedures for multilevel policing, including local, state and zonal policing systems.
“Against this backdrop, we must redesign our security architecture by facilitating the formation of zonal security councils chaired by a governor from the respective zone on a rotating basis. Such zonal security councils, which will be formed by state and local policing systems within respective zones, must be managed by nonpartisan security experts while the chairperson at each point in time will represent the zone at the National Security Council.
“We must also recreate our national security culture by mandating the kind of organisational culture change within the entire gamut of our law enforcement agencies that can win back the trust of the people.
“Finally, these security reforms must also be backed by intense international engagement through a two-tier foreign policy thrust (the Trans-Saharan and the Trans-Atlantic) to boost our capabilities, and to combat terrorism, banditry, and other forms of insurgency,” he said.
Bakare in the address, also carpeted President Tinubu over what he alleged were seeming attempts at state capture.
He described the situation in Rivers State where the president declared a state of emergency as a theater of the absurd further endorsed by the National Assembly which he described as the most “spineless” in Nigeria’s recent history.
The clergyman also took on the National Assembly over the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, challenging the suspension of the Senator for demanding accountability and transparency from the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
Pastor Bakare expressed dismay over the verbal attacks in the senate involving Ebonyi Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi and former Education Minister, Dr. Obi Ezekwesili during the hearing on the suspension of Senator Natasha, saying the senate has become an institution for political rascality.
With the statement of Senator Nwebonyi that Ezekwesili can’t be in the Senate, it means the institution is not the place for the brightest and the fittest and that the nation’s political institutions are “not designed for people of character and competence.”
According to him, it is through the influence of the President that the National Assembly has become a “haven for legislative rascality,” rubber stamping every thing the President sent to them.
Bakare said to the president: “Thanks to your political machination, this National Assembly has become the most ineffective.”
According to him, despite his earlier admonition to the president, recent events have shown that “those responsible for steering the course of our nation lack the humility and character this moment demands of leaders.”
“Instead, what we have seen since the beginning of the year is a descent into tyranny and the brazen abuse of power. Those entrusted with power appear determined to destabilise what is left of our political institutions and have committed themselves to obliterating the guardrails of constitutional governance.
“From the theatre of the absurd staged in Rivers State, with puppets on strings controlled by directors in Abuja, to the dance of shame performed by the National Assembly in their rush to suspend the constitution and endorse, through the backdoor, the usurpation of powers by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; from the Senate’s shameless bid to silence Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for demanding that the President of the Nigerian Senate uphold the moral standards required of that office, to the uncouth outbursts of an undistinguished senatorial misfit who tried in vain to silence the distinguished citizens attempting to testify on behalf of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, it is clear that our so-called leaders are determined to turn Nigeria into a mafia state.
“The two main contenders in the ongoing institutional immorality Olympics are the executive and the legislature. It is often said that these two arms of government suffered the worst forms of arrested development because they were the direct victims of the military era, but after twenty-six years of uninterrupted democracy, one must ask: how much longer before our institutions finally mature?
“While it is not in dispute that our institutions and constitution are inadequate, it has become obvious that our biggest problems are the occupiers of these institutions and executors of the constitution.
“The quality of leadership in Nigeria has become so repugnant that citizens must declare a state of emergency on governance, demanding that every aspiring public officeholder undergo rigorous psychiatric evaluation before seeking election.”
Leaders’ selfishness, nepotism adding to the tragedy – ACF
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), while felicitating Nigerian Christians on the Easter celebration yesterday, said it was aware that “the 2025 Easter Season was being celebrated amid continuing daunting existential socioeconomic, political and most worryingly, security and criminality challenges.
“Communities in Benue, Borno, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Plateau, Zamfara, and other states, are daily visited with debilitating and senseless deaths, destruction, dislocation, tears, and fractured intergroup relations.
“Adding to the tragedy are monstrous corruption, selfishness of leaders, nepotism, political insensitivity, inequities, impunity, lack of frugality, provocative and ostentatious lifestyles of political and other office holders, etc,”
The ACF, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba, prayed for the country’s return to peace, security and economic prosperity.
The statement partly read, “Doubtless, living conditions are dire, particularly in the northern states and in Nigeria in general. The needed public policy responses to the problems have been grossly inadequate and far from being effective and satisfactory.”
The ACF called on the Christian brethren to continue to pray “for peace, security and economic recovery for Nigeria, for God’s intercession so that Nigeria’s leaders are re-endowed with faith, love for ordinary citizens and the wisdom to chart Nigeria to the path to righteousness and glory.
“ACF also prays to Almighty God to further re-energise the National Security agencies so that they crush the reigns of terror, criminality, and insecurity that non-state actors have been subjecting the people to and which seek to destabilise Arewa communities and the Nigeria at large; turn the hearts of the terror merchants and their sponsors away from their senseless and callous criminality.
“ACF also prays for the conditions which allow and embolden the evil terror merchants to be overcome. Believing that a more peaceful, prosperous, and socially harmonious Arewa, and Nigeria, is still possible and plausible, ACF remains hopeful that our communities will emerge more resilient, stronger, hospitable, even more accommodative for all, as opposed to the current culture of pervasive anger, mutual mistrust, intolerance, despair and hopelessness,” the statement added.
Southern, Middle Belt leaders allege FG’s inability to end killings
The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF) yesterday alleged inability of the Nigerian state to end killings, saying officials of the Nigerian state on each occurrence only indulge in comparative statistical analysis of the number of lives lost.
They condemned the recent wave of attacks in Plateau State, saying many families had been wiped out while the indigenous people were displaced from their ancestral homes with no hope of returning.
The forum stated this in a joint statement endorsed by His Royal Highness Oba Oladipo Olaitan, Afenifere Leader; Dr Bitrus Pogu, Middle Belt Leaders Forum National President; Senator John Azuta Mbata, Ohanaeze Ndigbo President General and Ambassador Godknows Igali, PANDEF National Chairman.
The group noted that in two different attacks on Irigwe ethnicity in Zike and Kakpa villages in Kwall District, Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State last Sunday and the previous one in Bokkos Local Government Area a few days earlier, over 50 and 80 lives were lost respectively.
The forum said the people are now left “with no choice than to take their destinies in their own hands severally and jointly.”
They also called on their representatives in the National and State Assemblies to initiate legislations on state police and ban on open grazing.
They said, “As leaders SMBLF can no longer remain in a state of lamentation and idle mourning while our people are in their numbers butchered in cold blood. The soil of our homelands has drunk enough of our own blood.
“As a minimum demand, we call on the political representatives of our people particularly at the National and State Assemblies for legislations in support of State Police and immediate end to open grazing without prejudice to the Governors immediately putting in place security structures with capacity to withstand terror in our respective states.
“To the people: Rise, stop mourning and lamentation; organise according to your respective cultural and indigenous ways of community defence, seek necessary capacity wherever possible and available. If our people were not conquered before Nigeria, we will not allow Nigeria subject us to destruction and slavery. Take back every inch of your land now.
“In the face of the failure of the Nigerian state to protect you, all acts and weapons in self defence are lawful and legitimate.”
The statement noted that the “planned, coordinated and unrelenting genocidal massacre by suspected Fulani militias in various communities across Nigeria, particularly Plateau and Benue states has pushed all patriotic and well-meaning Nigerians beyond the threshold of mourning for decisive action by people of different nationalities and groups.”
“The only crime of our people is being Nigerians with their ancestral land and its rich resources on which they live peacefully,” they said.
According to the forum, while many Nigerians of Fulani origin may not support the heinous crimes allegedly perpetuated by their kinsmen, the continued silence of their prominent leaders is suggestive of complicity.
Insecurity, visible abdication of responsibility by insensitive leaders – Obi
On his part, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, urged Nigerians to use the occasion of Easter to pray for compassionate leaders who will share in their pains and act appropriately.
Obi, in an Easter message, said compassionate leaders always think of the people in the consequences of their actions and inactions.
“What is apparent in Nigeria today as insecurity and myriads of problems engulf the land is a visible abdication of responsibility by insensitive and indifferent leaders.
“Nigeria deserves better leadership than they are getting to turn the natural and human capital gifts from God to the benefit of the populace,” Obi said in the statement signed by his spokesperson, Ibrahim Umar.
Sincere response to insecurity needed across Nigeria – Kaigama
In his own Easter message, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, Archbishop of Abuja, stressed the need for a sincere and coordinated response to insecurity across Nigeria.
“We mourn the tragic and reckless killing of innocent travellers in Uromi, Edo State—lives cut short without reason or mercy. We grieve the repeated violence and massacres in Bokkos and Bassa Local Government Areas of Plateau State, where entire communities are being decimated.
“These attacks have left families shattered and dreams destroyed, and they underscore the urgent need for a sincere and coordinated response to insecurity across Nigeria.
“We are also alarmed by the continual hunger and economic hardship gripping our people. Families struggle daily to put food on the table, and children go to bed hungry in a nation so richly blessed. The desperation in the land is palpable, and it calls for immediate action from all levels of government, faith-based institutions, and citizens.
“As Jesus fed the multitudes with compassion, so must we work together to ensure that no Nigerian goes hungry in the midst of plenty,” Kaigama said.
“Equally distressing is the increasing trend of kidnapping and targeted attacks on clergy, especially priests who dedicate their lives to serving others.
“These brutal acts not only rob families of their loved ones but also strike at the heart of the moral and spiritual fabric, as every priest kidnapped or murdered is a blow to the conscience of the nation,” he said.
He also said that the recent political tensions and institutional breakdown that led to the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State were deeply troubling.
He said, “While government intervention in moments of crisis is sometimes necessary to restore order and protect democratic institutions, we must be cautious in our reactions and avoid actions that could further polarize an already tense environment.
“Let this moment serve as a call to all stakeholders – political leaders, traditional authorities, civil society, and citizens – to embrace dialogue over division.
“No democracy can thrive without the culture of give and take, live and let live.”
Don’t trade with human lives – CAN
The Kebbi state branch of CAN through its Chairman, Venerable Ayyuba Kanta, who spoke in Birnin Kebbi yesterday, said it is unfortunate that killings continue in the country despite the presence of security agencies.
He stated that peace had eluded the country for no tangible reasons.
He asked leaders to desist from trading with human lives and resist any temptation just like Jesus did to overcome evil and evil-doers.
Kanta also asked the security agencies to live up to Nigerians’ expectations by ensuring the security of their lives, property, and constitutional rights.
‘Let’s promote dialogue, reconciliation’
Archbishop Daniel Okoh, president of CAN, in his Easter message, urged Christians to use this Easter season as a time for deep reflection, earnest prayer, and spiritual renewal, by strengthening the bonds of fellowship, extend compassion to those in need, and strive to build a more just and caring society.
He said, “This Easter, let us be intentional in acts of kindness and charity, reaching out to the marginalised and the suffering. Let us also promote dialogue and reconciliation, working towards greater unity within our communities and across the nation. In the spirit of Easter, may we reach out to neighbours of other faiths, fostering mutual respect and peaceful co-existence.”
Nigeria gradually becoming huge national morgue – Kukah
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, in a message he directed at Tinubu, on Saturday warned that the country was slowly turning into a vast national morgue due to incessant killings and widespread violence.
He lamented the scale of human suffering across the nation, describing the current climate as marked by “a culture of brutality and savagery never witnessed in the history of our dear country.”
Kukah used the metaphor of the crucifixion to illustrate the extent of national pain, calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene and rescue citizens from what he termed “this cross of evil.”
“Mr. President, we all admit that you neither erected this cross nor initiated our collective crucifixion. However, Nigerians have been left bleeding and dangling on this cross of pain and mindless suffering for far too long,” he said.
The Bishop condemned the increasing frequency of kidnappings, killings, and other forms of violent crimes across the country, stating that no household or community remains untouched by the wave of insecurity.
“A dark pall of death hangs languidly from north to south. Every day, innocent citizens are kidnapped and held under the most inhuman conditions. Nigeria is reaching a breaking point,” Kukah warned.
He further criticised the government’s approach to economic hardship, particularly the reliance on palliative distributions, which he said erodes the dignity of citizens.
“While we agree that removing fuel subsidies was a necessary decision and acknowledge the availability of more domestic resources, the reality is that farming has become one of the most dangerous occupations in Nigeria for over a decade. Mere palliatives are insufficient. What Nigerians need is sustainable access to food and security,” he stated.
Calling for urgent reforms, Kukah urged President Tinubu to enshrine food security as a fundamental human right.
“Make food security a constitutional right for all citizens. Mr. President, please bring us down from this painful cross of hunger,” he appealed.
He said despite the grim picture, Nigerians should hold on to hope, reminding them of their collective responsibility to drive out the darkness engulfing the nation.
“The structural deformities, iniquities, and corruption of our country must not be an excuse to lose hope. We are the light of the world, a city set on a hill. With the light of Christ, we can build a society that reflects the will of our Creator,” he said.
He concluded his message with blessings for the nation and a call for renewed faith in the country’s potential.
“I wish you, Mr. President, and all Nigerians, a blessed and happy Easter,” he added.
TY Danjuma renews call for self-defence
Former Minister of Defence, General T Y Danjuma (rtd), has again emphasised that the fight against insecurity in Nigeria cannot be left to the government alone.
He made the call during a get-together organised in honor of his staff at Takum in Taraba State at the weekend
He told staff, partners, and companies working with him that the citizens should not fold their arms and allow bandits and terrorists overrun their commodities
The elder statesman warned that if citizens failed to defend themselves, bandits and terrorists could overrun communities.
He reiterated the importance of preparedness for self-defense as a necessary step in the face of escalating insecurity across the country.
According to him, the recent spate of killings in Benue, Plateau, and other parts of Nigeria had once again validated his concerns.
“The warning I gave some years ago is still as valid today as it was then. Nigerians must rise and defend themselves.
“We cannot continue to sit and watch while bandits, terrorists, and criminal gangs massacre our people unchecked.
“It is now very clear that the government alone cannot protect us. We must stand up and defend ourselves, our families, and our lands before these criminals overrun the entire country.”
General Danjuma expressed deep appreciation to his staff and associates for their dedication and commitment, especially those working at the TY Danjuma Medical Centre.
He commended them for their selfless service and acknowledged their role in building a reputable image for the institution, noting that their efforts have not gone unnoticed.
The event featured captivating performances by renowned Taraba-born music artiste, M.I Abaga, and other entertainers, delighting guests with a variety of musical presentations.
JNI condemns Plateau killings
The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) under the leadership of the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad Abubakar, had condemned the killings in the Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau.
A statement issued by the JNI Secretary-General, Prof. Khalid Aliyu, in Kaduna said, “It is very depressing to have read, after experiencing relative stability and peace on the Plateau, about the unwarranted killings of 60 people in Bokkos Local Government Area of the state.
“The JNI, under the leadership of the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has monitored very closely the security relapse on the Plateau and condemned in its entirety the attempted return to the former dark days of bloodbaths.
“As we have always stated, human life is sacred and should be treated as such.”
According to him, the recent killing spree in Bokkos is worrisome, saying, “We fear that the way things are going, if not well-managed, it can lead to anarchy.”
Tinubu determined to do more on security
– Presidency Reacting to the criticisms against the government on the insecurity, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a WhatsApp message to Daily Trust yesterday, said the president was determined to do more.
The presidential spokesman also said that specific measures the government and the security agencies would take are not matters for the pages of newspapers.
He stated: “President Bola Tinubu has acknowledged some of the challenges we currently face and expressed his sadness and sympathy for the victims of a new wave of attacks, especially in Plateau and Benue States. In his Easter message, he spoke about his government’s determination to curb security lapses, giving a marching order to the Armed Forces and all relevant security agencies to end insecurity decisively and without delay.
“As to specific measures that the government and security agencies will take, these are not matters for the pages of newspapers.
“I have read some of the sermons by respected Christian leaders, including Bishop Hassan Kukah. They didn’t say the Tinubu government has not done much in addressing insecurity. They said the government should do more, and President Tinubu, backed by the gallant armed forces and other security agencies, is determined to do that.”
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