Tinubu administration has degraded Northern insecurity — Adamawa Commissioner

Mercy Iheoma Ihedigbo

Adamawa State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon. Leader Leneke, has said banditry and insurgency in Northern Nigeria have been significantly degraded, with attacks no longer occurring on a daily or weekly basis as, according to him, was previously the case.

Leneke made the assertion during an appearance on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, where he assessed the performance of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration in Northern Nigeria, particularly in security, agriculture and infrastructure.

The Commissioner, however, acknowledged that security threats persist, citing a recent attack along the Adamawa-Borno border in which several people were reportedly killed.

He described the incident as painful, saying the state had believed it had moved beyond such attacks.

“About yesterday, we had a little security breach in Adamawa along the borderlines of one of our local government areas with Borno State. The insurgents encroached into some parts of some of our communities, and quite several people lost their lives, unfortunately,” Leneke said.

“It is a very sad and painful situation because we thought for a while we had gone past this phase, this stage, because we’ve not been experiencing that,” he added.

Despite the incident, Leneke said the overall security situation in the North had improved considerably compared with the situation inherited by the Tinubu administration.

He said the current Federal Government inherited what he described as a severe security crisis involving kidnappers, insurgents, bandits, unknown gunmen and persistent farmers-herders clashes.

“In terms of security, before the coming of the present administration, you must accept and understand that the present administration did not create the current security challenge and trouble that we face currently as a nation and particularly,

Northern Nigeria. In fact, if we’re going to be truthful, they met a very dire situation on the ground,” he said.

“It was a daily occurrence. You call them farmers-herders clashes and crises. It was a daily occurrence across the length and breadth of the North.”

According to Leneke, the insurgency that had been concentrated largely around Borno, Yobe and parts of Adamawa had been substantially degraded under the current security architecture.

“When security problems started, it was at a point localized along the northeastern geopolitical region of the country, Bauchi, Yobe, and Adamawa, but the epicenter used to be Borno and Yobe and the northern part of Adamawa State. But today, if you’re fair to this government, you can honestly say the insurgency has been largely degraded,” he said.

The Commissioner stressed that isolated attacks still occurred but argued that their frequency had reduced significantly.

“There might be isolated cases here and there, just like the one I mentioned, but they are no longer a daily occurrence. They are no longer a weekly occurrence, not even a monthly occurrence as the case may be,” Leneke said.

He also claimed that the farmers-herders crisis, which has contributed to violence and displacement in parts of Northern Nigeria, had been substantially reduced.

“The farmers-herders situational crisis that we’ve also experienced across the entire northern region is almost a thing of the past, and I can broadly say 85 to 90 per cent of this crisis has been taken care of,” he said.

“Farmers can now go to farm, herders can now also rear their animals without the daily clashes that take place between them.”

On banditry in the North-West, Leneke said the problem had also been substantially degraded, although he acknowledged that it had not been eliminated.

“I’m not saying it has been totally resolved and taken care of, but if we must be honest, this administration and its security architecture have done a very commendable and remarkable job in tackling the situation and degrading it to its barest minimum for now,” he said.

Leneke said the improvement was also reflected in increased movement along some roads that were previously considered dangerous.

“People can now ply some of these roads, unlike before, you can’t even think about plying these roads because you’re almost certain it is a dead trap for you or a dead wish if you decide to do that,” he said.

“There has been a drastic improvement. There’s been tremendous improvement, and credit must be given to this administration in that regard.”

Five Army battalions for Adamawa

The Commissioner further disclosed that President Tinubu had approved the establishment of about five Nigerian Army battalions across Adamawa State to strengthen security coverage.

“In Adamawa State alone, the President has given the approval for the establishment of about five battalions of the Nigerian Army across the state, in Ganye, Luman, Madagali, Mubi, all across Adamawa State,” he said.

Recent reports have also confirmed moves to expand military presence in Adamawa. The Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation said in August that the state government was supporting the establishment of the Army’s new 10 Division, with locations including Yola, Ganye, Gombi, Mubi and Madagali being assessed for military formations.

Leneke linked the security situation to broader federal interventions and infrastructure development across the North, citing major road projects as part of the government’s development agenda.

“I can also tell you the projects that are federally conceived and carried out are ongoing across the North. Superhighways are also being constructed across the North,” he said.

He cited the Badagry-Sokoto, Abuja-Kaduna and Abuja-Kano corridors, arguing that such projects demonstrated increased federal attention to the region.

The Commissioner maintained that the security record of the Tinubu administration should be assessed against the conditions it inherited, while acknowledging that Northern Nigeria was not completely free from insecurity.

His comments come against the backdrop of continuing security concerns in parts of the North. Recent security developments in Adamawa have included efforts to strengthen military presence and counter-terrorism infrastructure, while authorities have continued to warn residents about persistent threats.

Leneke nevertheless maintained that the North had moved significantly away from the period when attacks were, in his description, routine, and credited the Tinubu administration’s security architecture with what he called a drastic improvement in the situation.