‘Judge Us After Elections’ – Bwala Defends Tinubu’s Fight Against Insecurity

 

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Daniel Bwala, has outlined a series of measures being implemented by the Federal Government to tackle insurgency, banditry and kidnapping across the country.

Speaking during a panel discussion on The Link Up Podcast, hosted by echoRoom and published on Friday, Bwala said the Tinubu administration is expanding security personnel, deploying technology and strengthening international partnerships to improve national security.

According to him, the government recognises that the current number of security operatives is inadequate to effectively police Nigeria’s vast population and territorial size.

Bwala said one of the administration’s immediate priorities is the recruitment and retraining of more security personnel to strengthen the country’s response to insecurity.

“We are investing in training and retraining. First of all, we’re investing in recruiting more security personnel because the one we have, they are not sufficient to match with the population and the land mass,” he said.

Naija News reports that the presidential aide disclosed that part of the newly recruited personnel would serve as forest guards to deny terrorists and criminal gangs safe havens in forests across the country.

“We needed to send people to the forest, so we have to recruit more and send them to forest guards as forest guards. Those ones, the terrorists, are also stealing our mines and resources,” Bwala added.

He further explained that the recruitment drive also covers the Nigeria Police Force, the Armed Forces, the Department of State Services and marine security formations.

“We also have these marine guys there. We’re increasing police, soldiers and DSS. So in terms of personnel, we’re increasing them,” he stated.

Community Policing, Private Security To Complement Operations

Bwala said the Federal Government was also working with paramilitary organisations while granting licences to selected private security firms to provide additional security support.

According to him, efforts are also underway to strengthen community-based policing, allowing residents to play more active roles in intelligence gathering.

“So we are expanding the local police and DSS within the city, like the Governor of Lagos told me they are doing, developing community-based policing, neighbourhood marshals and others, where they say if you see something, you must talk,” he said.

He added that President Bola Tinubu had already directed the withdrawal of police officers attached to some VIPs, warning that officers who fail to comply with the directive would soon be identified.

Drones, Surveillance Technology Deployed

The presidential spokesman said technology had become a critical component of Nigeria’s security architecture, revealing that the government was investing in drones and electronic interception systems to improve surveillance and intelligence gathering.

“We’re investing in technological devices that, in modern days, help us when we are sleeping, which is the drone system, interception and all that,” he said.

According to him, intelligence-led operations enable security agencies to monitor criminal movements and strike only when targets leave populated communities, thereby minimising civilian casualties.

Bwala also disclosed that Nigeria was strengthening security cooperation with neighbouring Sahel countries while expanding its defence partnership with the United States.

He revealed that special forces had recently concluded a round of operations with their American counterparts, while other personnel remained in the country to continue specialised training.

“We will not tell the world the nature of the training. We don’t want our enemies to know. There are certain things that are classified because we don’t say it, people tend to think government is not working,” he said.

Describing kidnapping and abduction as a growing “crisis economy,” Bwala said the crimes were no longer perpetrated solely by terrorists, noting that investigations had shown that some suspects were ordinary Nigerians, including acquaintances and neighbours of their victims.

“The kidnappings and the abductions you see, which is a crisis economy, is done sometimes by the terrorist and at other times by Nigerians. Sometimes when it is done, they arrest people and discover that they are neighbours,” he said.

‘Judge Us After Elections’

Bwala argued that insecurity in Nigeria often intensifies in the period leading up to elections because criminal elements are allegedly recruited and armed by political interests.

He urged Nigerians to assess the government’s security performance after the election cycle.

“Please do your judgment by after election, because they also consider this as part of the election, because more people will need market, recruit them or arm them,” he said.

The presidential aide also disclosed that security agencies had begun taking action against compromised law enforcement personnel.

He cited the recent arrest of a senior police officer by mine marshals as evidence that the government was determined to sanitise the security system from within.

Bwala maintained that while significant challenges remain, the Federal Government is implementing a multi-pronged strategy combining increased manpower, technology, intelligence sharing, international cooperation and community participation to restore peace and improve security across the country.