Defence minister rates Tinubu govt 70% on security

Nigeria's Defence Minister, Christopher Musa, has assigned the Tinubu administration a security performance score of 65% to 70%, asserting that terrorism has been drastically reduced to isolated kidnapping incidents. However, he conceded that a wave of school abductions across several states continues to pose a significant challenge to the nation.

Musa articulated his assessment during an interview with ARISE News on Friday, coinciding with the administration's three-year mark. He stated, "No nation is totally free from crime and criminality." He emphasized that the "level of terrorism across the country has actually drastically reduced," but characterized remaining acts as a "social vice, a failure of family values."

The minister framed the persistent issue of kidnapping primarily as a societal crisis, pointing to what he described as a breakdown in family structures. "We have fathers kidnapping children, children kidnapping each other, brothers kidnapping sisters. It tells you that something is wrong with the family, and we need to look inward to see how we can develop those aspects," he explained.

“

I’ll give ourselves 65 to 70%. No nation is totally free from crime and criminality. I’m sure you are aware that the level of terrorism across the country has actually drastically reduced. Now we have acts of terrorism, and terrorism, like I said, is a social vice, a failure of family values.

His comments follow recent high-profile school abductions. Between May 13 and 15, at least 82 pupils were taken in separate attacks in Borno and Oyo states. In Borno, armed groups attacked schools in Askira Uba and Chibok, kidnapping 42 pupils. In Oyo, 40 pupils were abducted from multiple schools on May 15. The Oyo attack resulted in the death of a teacher, a motorcyclist, and a security operative who encountered improvised explosive devices during rescue attempts. The Defence Headquarters attributed the Oyo kidnapping to the JAS group, which has been displaced from other regions due to military operations.

Amnesty International reported that approximately 1,100 people were abducted between January and April 2026 alone, labeling the trend a "continuing failure of protection for vulnerable populations." These recent incidents are part of a sustained pattern, including an April abduction of 23 pupils and a school owner's wife in Kogi State, where nine victims were later rescued by the Nigerian Army. Nigeria also experienced a resurgence of mass abductions in November 2025, with at least 145 individuals taken.

“

We have fathers kidnapping children, children kidnapping each other, brothers kidnapping sisters. It tells you that something is wrong with the family, and we need to look inward to see how we can develop those aspects.