Says foreign funding, legal bottlenecks frustrating war against terror
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has made the striking claim that the recent surge in killings and insecurity across Nigeria is being deliberately fuelled by certain politicians seeking to discredit the government ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking in a televised interview on Thursday, General Musa expressed frustration that the security gains made last year, which saw the lowest number of deaths, were being deliberately undermined for political profit.
“Criminals, both bandits and terrorists, work together. They have a common goal to make money and destabilise communities. But there is also a political angle. Some individuals don’t want peace because when there is peace, the government is seen to be doing well. When there is no peace, the government is seen to be failing”, Musa stated.
He pointed to the sharp spike in violence this year compared to the relative calm of 2024, asking a question that resonated with many viewers: “How come this year, suddenly, everything has spiked? Politics is coming, the election is coming. You cannot rule out the fact that some people are controlling these criminals to ensure there is no peace, and governance is discredited. But the funny thing is, how do you kill the people you want to govern? What do you gain from it?”
Beyond the political dimension, the Defence Chief provided a sobering assessment of the other major challenges hindering the fight against terrorism. He confirmed that a “steady flow of foreign cash” was empowering terrorist groups, though he noted that the Attorney-General of the Federation and agencies like the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit were actively tracking these financiers. Legal hurdles, however, remain a significant frustration. “The process of naming terrorism financiers is on… It has to do with legal issues and international connections,” he explained, lamenting that “our legal system is frustrating.”
Musa was blunt in his criticism of the judiciary’s handling of terrorism cases, calling for urgent reforms. “Sometimes, legal intercepts, you take it to court, and it is knocked out for one reason or another. Again, we have to review our legal system because some of the punishments and prosecutions are slow and inadequate. If we have special courts, we will treat cases as quickly as they should.” He even cited the military’s controversial decision to bomb illegal refining sites in the South-South as a necessary alternative to the “legal bottlenecks” that allowed offenders to pay “peanuts” and return to business.
The CDS also highlighted the grave regional threats emanating from instability across the Sahel. “Since Libya fell, the Sahel has been open. You can buy any weapon in those markets,” he warned, pointing to the porous 4,000-kilometre border Nigeria struggles to secure.
He urged citizens to be more cautious about the indiscriminate hospitality shown to foreigners, noting that infiltrators often pose as brothers and sisters. “Boko Haram started like that—welcoming strangers who later became monsters. We must never allow foreigners to take an inch of our land,” he cautioned.
General Musa further touched on the technological disadvantage faced by the military, describing security as “expensive” and noting that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has made advanced equipment like real-time satellites and precision weapons difficult to acquire.
He expressed hope that the Defence Industrial Bill recently approved by President Tinubu would eventually allow for local production of vital equipment, stating, “when we produce, then we can get much at money’s worth.” Despite these challenges, he assured the public that the armed forces were doing their best with available resources to protect the nation.
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