In Nigeria, APM disputes minister’s claim of victory over terrorism
In Nigeria, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) criticized Defence Minister Christopher Musa over his claim of victory over terrorists and an improvement in the security situation under President Bola Tinubu. The party said this does not reflect the situation in the country, where people, according to it, continue to face killings, kidnappings and forced displacement, Premium Times Nigeria reports.
Defence minister’s statement
Earlier, on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, Musa said that terrorist attacks are no longer as frequent or as brazen as they were before. At the same time, he noted that kidnappings have become more widespread.
Answering a question about whether terrorists had been defeated or merely pushed back, the minister stated that they had been defeated because the number of attacks had declined. He also called kidnapping a “social evil” and mentioned cases in which wives kidnapped their husbands and men kidnapped their own children. According to Musa, the level of security has improved under Tinubu’s presidency, while reports of terrorist attacks have become less frequent.
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APM’s arguments
In a statement signed by APM’s national publicity secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, the party called the minister’s position an attempt to downplay the scale of the deterioration in the security situation. APM referred to the 2026 Global Terrorism Index and stated that Nigeria had moved from sixth to fourth place among countries most affected by terrorism.
The party also claims that more than 600,000 people have died in the country during the three years of Tinubu’s presidency, while at least 2.2 million have been kidnapped. These figures are cited as APM’s claims. The party separately mentioned reports of the abduction of about 600 people, mostly women, children and elderly people, from the Dekera, Gidan-Zana and Sabon-Gida communities in Niger State.
Citing SBM Intelligence data, APM said that more than 7.78 billion naira had been paid as ransom from July 2025 to June 2026. The party urged Tinubu, the defence minister and other senior officials to travel across the country by road without armed guards. APM also called on voters to support its candidate in the 2027 presidential election, Seyi Makinde.
