Mr Okechukwu Nwanguma, the Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), has reacted to a recent presidential account detailing the release of 38 kidnapped worshippers in Kwara state, warning that the government’s method exposes a catastrophic failure of the nation’s security architecture.
Mr Okechukwu Nwanguma, the Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), minced no words, stating that if the Presidency’s narrative is true, “Nigeria has reached a level of collapse we can no longer sugarcoat.”
The controversy stems from the statement by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, who reportedly claimed that the Department of State Services (DSS) and the military contacted and negotiated the release of the abductees with the bandits, though he insisted no ransom was paid.
For Nwanguma, this seemingly positive development carries a terrifying implication.
“So, all along, Nigerian security agencies could track, identify and communicate with terrorists, yet mass killings, mass abductions, and mass suffering continue unabated?” he asked.
The RULAAC Director argues that instead of reassurance, the Presidency offered an “unintended confession” that the state can track bandits, knows their bases and movements, and can reach them when required, with the criminals even complying with state requests.
“This is terrifying. This is the kind of thing that, in a normal country, would spark a national emergency, parliamentary hearings, resignations, and a complete overhaul of the security architecture. But in Nigeria, it is explained on TV with a smile,” Nwanguma asserted.
Nwanguma highlighted the spokesperson’s alleged warning to the terrorists that “kinetic action” might follow if they refused to release the abductees.
“In other words: We know where they are, but we choose not to strike until certain categories of victims force our hand,” he analysed.
This, he concluded, confirms the fear of many Nigerians: “We do not have a capability problem; we have a will problem.”
The shocking admissions, according to RULAAC, reveal that security agencies can communicate with terrorists, proving these criminals are not “hidden, mysterious ghosts.”
It also shows that the state’s inability to end terrorism is not due to a lack of capacity but a lack of coordinated political decision. Furthermore, the urgency to rescue abductees is selective, suggesting the lives of poor, rural victims may not trigger the same level of response as high-profile cases. Finally, negotiating with terrorists directly or indirectly has become dangerously normalised despite official denials.
While commending the rescue of the worshippers and the Niger pupils, Nwanguma cautioned against celebrating a success that “exposes the depth of our security rot.”
The core issue, he stressed, is the state’s capitulation of its primary role. “A government that negotiates with bandits is a government that admits it has lost monopoly of violence,” he said.
The state is the sole entity permitted to use force, and acknowledging that violent criminals can be “reasoned with, pleaded with, ‘warned,’ and persuaded into compliance” destroys the “last fragile thread of national authority,” he added.
Nwanguma issued a pointed challenge to the government, demanding answers to critical questions: If the DSS can track bandits, why are the networks not dismantled? If the military knows the bases, why are those bases still standing? If terrorists obey government warnings, why has a final warning not been issued to end banditry altogether? And what differentiates victims who receive urgent rescue from those forgotten for months and years?
“If indeed this story is real, as told by the presidency, then Nigeria is in deeper trouble than we imagined. Because it means the state can, but won’t,” Nwanguma stated.
He warned: “A country that negotiates openly with terrorists has already lost control… And a country that accepts this as normal has lost hope.”
