“We will mobilise the totality of our national security, military, and law enforcement assets to protect all Nigerians from danger and from the fear of danger.” This was President Bola Tinubu’s statement when he sought to clinch the number one spot in Nigeria in the buildup to the general election.
As part of his campaign message in 2022, just when the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration was coming to an end, Tinubu said he would expand and improve upon the use of technology, enhance recruitment of personnel, and bolster existing agencies and systems to achieve his fundamental national security goal.
The Buhari administration recorded over 11,700 incidents of armed violence, an average of 1,468 each year, and Nigerians wanted fresh air—a government capable of ending the scourge of insecurity in the country.
President Tinubu assured Nigerians that with his “bold, no-nonsense crime prevention reform” in Lagos State, where he served as governor, he would permanently secure the safety, freedom, and prosperity of all Nigerians.
“I shall bring the same determined, problem-solving spirit to solving insecurity at the national level,” he said.
However, findings by Within Nigeria revealed that during the two years of Tinubu’s administration, the state of insecurity in the country has not gotten any better, with Nigerians more afraid that the next minute might be their last.
Under Tinubu, people die, and keep dying
Despite Tinubu’s promise to end insecurity, many lives are still lost to brazen attacks by non-state actors. Just a few weeks after Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, Amnesty International reported that at least 123 lives were lost through gun violence in parts of the country.
Between May 2023 and April 2024, 614,937 people were killed nationwide according to the Crime Experienced and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Of this figure, 206,030 were killed North-west, while 188,992 people were killed in the North-east, both ravaged by banditry and Boko Haram insurgency over the years.
These deaths continue to go unabated. Data by Database.Earth revealed that in 2024, 2,708,530 people died in Nigeria, whereof 1,370,242 were male and 1,338,288 were female. This is a 1.24% increase in deaths when compared to 2023.
The Data based on the medium fertility variant of the United Nations Revision of World Population Prospects 2024 projects an 8.47% in deaths increase by 2030.
More findings revealed that Nigeria is currently ranked 6th on the 2025 Global Terrorism Index and accounted for 6% of global terrorism deaths in 2023. This is a shift from the 8th position in 2022.
According to this report, Yobe State is ranked 7th among the 20th most fatal terrorist attacks worldwide.
In September 2024, around 150 gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a market and set fire to shops and residences in an attack on Mafa village, Tarmuwa local government area, killing between 100 and 150 people and wounding an unconfirmed number.
While attacks in Nigeria decreased by 37 percent, deaths from terrorism continued to rise, increasing by six percent (565 deaths) in 2024, marking the highest death toll since 2020, driven by the ongoing conflict between ISWAP and Boko Haram.
Together, fatalities attributed to these groups accounted for nearly 60 percent of all terrorism-related deaths in the country, and civilians became the most targeted group in 2024, accounting for 62 per cent of all deaths, a significant increase from 21 per cent in 2023.
As this death toll continued, Vanguard reports that in the first six weeks of 2025, no fewer than 805 lives were lost to violence and insecurity across the country.
These deaths are also attributed to the Farmer-Herder crisis that has ravaged the Northwest and Northcentral Regions.
Between January – March 2024, at least 865 People were killed in Plateau state from heightened tensions between farmers and herders, and 160 of whom were children.
In April 2025, at least 40 people were killed when gunmen, believed to be herders, attacked a Christian farming community in the north-central part of the country. A month later, forty-two people were killed in four communities across Benue State.
Tinubu policies faulted
President Tinubu has come under heavy attack for his handling of the growing insecurity in the country.
In February 2025, Tinubu directed the Armed Forces, security, and intelligence agencies to harmonise their operations and adopt a whole-of-society approach to combating evolving security challenges.
As the president marked two years in power, Amnesty International stated that Tinubu has failed to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.
In a report, Amnesty International emphasised that Tinubu has failed to shield citizens from daily attacks by armed groups and bandits, which have claimed thousands of lives and created a potential humanitarian crisis across many northern states.
It revealed that in the two years of Tinubu’s administration, at least 10,217 people were killed in attacks by gunmen in Benue, Edo, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau, Sokoto, and Zamfara states.
Benue State accounted for the highest death toll of 6,896, followed by Plateau State, where 2,630 people were killed.
The organisation said that the recent escalation of attacks by Boko Haram and other armed groups shows that the security measures implemented by President Tinubu’s government are simply not working.
“President Tinubu must fulfil his promises to Nigerians and urgently address the resurgence of the nation’s endemic security crisis.”
Also, the Arewa Consultative Forum called on President Tinubu to take immediate action to address the pressing issue of insecurity.
The pan-northern socio-political organisation noted that security was an “irreducible minimum” of human existence and that the government must take responsibility for safeguarding lives and property.
“Those whose responsibility it is to provide security saying they are doing their best is unacceptable. The minimum duty of the government is to safeguard life and property, and doing anything less is a failure.”
However, the Tinubu-led government has increased budgetary allocations for the security sector from N1.25 trillion in 2023 to N3.25 trillion in 2024 (a 160% increase) and further to N4.91 trillion in 2025, in a bid to fight insecurity.
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