The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has warned that killing one terrorist is futile if the country’s borders remain porous, as dozens more will simply flood in.
The minister made the remarks during a public speech, a video Gistcore saw on Tuesday.
He laid bare the severe funding gap facing the Nigerian Immigration Service and the broader security architecture.
“Look at the 2025 budget, how much do you even have for border security, that is the truth,” he said.
He continued: “The whole budget of Nigerian Immigration Services, capital budget, is less than N10 billion and you want to protect 4,024 square kilometres of our border space. Are we joking? When you kill one terrorist, and the border is porous, 20 will come in, and the military is challenged. We need to be very realistic with ourselves.”
The minister did not hold back on critiquing the national security mindset, noting the overreliance on military forces as a sign of systemic failure.
He said: “We have some of the most brilliant people in our DSS,” he said, referring to the Department of State Services. “But the simple truth is that when we talk about internal security, the first thing that comes to the Nigerian mind is the military. That is a sign of the failure of our national security agencies. Let’s tell ourselves the truth.”
Further expressing frustration at the funding model for the police, the minister questioned why law enforcement still depends heavily on budgetary allocations.
He continued: “I didn’t even see why our police should even rely on budgetary allocations. Let’s call a spade a spade, we are talking about the most black people on earth. Africa has a population of 1.2 billion people, 240 of that population are Nigerians, and you have a police force that depends on capital release, and you think we will be efficient (in talking insecurity)?”
The minister’s comments underscore growing concerns over Nigeria’s security challenges and the urgent need for realistic strategies and adequate funding to stem the tide of terrorism and insecurity.
The most recent violent attack launched against Nigerian residents by non-state actors was carried out in Benue State a few days ago.
The state governor, Hyacinth Alia, had also revealed that the gunmen suspected to be herders first launched an assault on Nigerian military personnel and police officers stationed in the area before descending on civilians.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Monday evening, the governor said the attackers infiltrated the community through a river and engaged security operatives in a fierce confrontation before targeting civilians.
“It lasted for two hours. There is a military checkpoint and there are police as well. Here is how it happens. The river is not too far from this axis. So we understand that they came by route of the river,” Governor Alia explained.
The governor, a Catholic priest, further disclosed that the attackers were heavily armed and came in large numbers.
“They were pushed back and now they are moving towards Lafia, Nasarawa State. This place shares borders with Nasarawa State,” he said.
Governor Alia added: “When they got to this town, the first effort they did was to go attack the military and the police who usually manned the road around there. But they had a big push back and ran back. But they came in numbers, they usually came in huge numbers.”
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