Insecurity: Ministers, governors may become targets, Buratai warns

Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.), has warned that Nigeria’s worsening security situation could deteriorate further if urgent and decisive measures are not taken, cautioning that political leaders, including ministers, senators, and governors, may become targets of bandits and insurgents.

Buratai gave the warning in a statement titled, “A frank and patriotic advice on Nigeria’s escalating security crisis,” following reports surrounding the abduction and killing of a senior military officer, Maj.-Gen. Rabe Abubakar.

According to the former army chief, the killing of a senior military officer by non-state actors signals a dangerous escalation in the country’s security challenges and should serve as a wake-up call to authorities at all levels.

“When a general falls into the hands of non-state actors, it signals a serious erosion of tactical deterrence. If this trend continues unchecked, the next targets may not be soldiers or civilians alone. They could include ministers, senators, and even state governors,” he warned.

Buratai recalled that in 2021, he had predicted that insurgency and banditry could persist for up to two decades if drastic measures were not implemented, adding that current developments appear to validate those concerns.

The former Nigerian envoy to the Benin Republic urged the Federal Government to acknowledge the limitations of its current security strategy, arguing that bandits and insurgents now operate with sophisticated intelligence capabilities, heavy weaponry, and a level of audacity that increasingly challenges state authority.