The African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Thursday pinned the recent jump in terrorist attacks and civilian deaths squarely on President Bola Tinubu’s government, waving the 2026 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) as evidence that insecurity is getting worse, not better.
In a statement signed by National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the report—which ranks Nigeria fourth globally with 750 terrorism fatalities in 2025, up 46 percent from the year before—shows “the failure of the Bola Tinubu-led APC government to secure the country.”
“That is not an abstract statistic,” the statement continued. “At a moment when Nigerians are grieving and communities live under daily threat, Tinubu, his National Security Adviser, and the Minister of Defence are abroad.”
The GTI calls the Sahel the “global epicentre of terrorism,” accounting for nearly half of all terrorism deaths for the third straight year. The ADC zeroed in on Nigeria’s numbers: attacks climbed 43 percent, from 120 in 2024 to 171 in 2025, with Borno State absorbing 67 percent of incidents and 72 percent of deaths.
“Most worrying, civilians now make up 67 percent of those killed—proof of how exposed ordinary Nigerians have become.”
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) was blamed for more than half of the attacks and deaths, while Boko Haram stays active and new groups such as Lakurawa are cropping up.
Pointing to the GTI’s conclusion that weak governance, internal instability, and economic hardship fuel terrorism, the ADC argued Nigeria’s problem “goes beyond isolated security lapses to a breakdown in governance.”
The party offered a three-point plan it says would reverse the trend:
– Fix coordination: create a legally backed national intelligence hub led by a Coordinator of National Intelligence and launch a unified Joint Terrorism Task Force to stop agencies from working in silos.
– Decentralise policing: build a three-tier model—federal, state, and community—with clear roles and national standards so all 774 local government areas can respond faster and answer to locals.
– Shift from reaction to prevention: set up an intelligence-driven system that uses data, early-warning tools, and rapid-response units in every state to stop attacks before they happen.
A government that puts citizens first, the ADC said, would show “visible, coordinated leadership during crises.”
