By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned the killing of about 170 persons in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, describing the incident as further evidence of what it called the “total collapse” of Nigeria’s internal security architecture under President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement issued on Friday, the party said the continued wave of mass killings across the country showed that the Federal Government’s security approach was not eliminating terrorism but merely “redistributing terror” from one part of the country to another.
The statement, signed by the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the Kwara attack ranked among the worst atrocities recorded in recent times and raised serious questions about the effectiveness of the government’s security policies.
“The African Democratic Congress condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent gruesome killing of about 170 innocent Nigerians in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.
“This horrific massacre is one of the worst atrocities recorded in recent times and stands as a painful reminder of the complete collapse of security across the country”, the party said.
The ADC extended condolences to the families of the victims and residents of the affected communities, saying they had once again been “abandoned to mourn their dead in a nation that appears incapable of protecting its citizens.”
The ADC raised concerns that the attackers may be terrorist elements displaced from other regions due to recent military actions, stressing that weak internal coordination had allowed violent groups to relocate freely across states.
“As many analysts have noted, what makes this tragedy even more troubling are growing concerns that the perpetrators may be part of terrorist elements recently dispersed by military action in the North-West, who are now relocating to other states due to weak internal security coordination.
“The net summary of this is now self-evident: the Tinubu administration, whatever it is doing, is not winning the war against terror; it is merely redistributing it,” the statement said.
The opposition party cited similar incidents in other states, including mass abductions in Kaduna, as proof of what it described as deep structural failures in Nigeria’s security system.
“Whether it is the mass abductions in Kaduna or the mass killings in Kwara, both highlight the deep structural failures of Nigeria’s internal security system in terms of intelligence gathering, border control, inter-agency collaboration and emergency response capability,” Abdullahi said.
The ADC also questioned the fate of President Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency on security, announced in November 2025, as well as the promised large-scale recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force.
“Nigerians are compelled to ask serious questions,” the statement said. “What happened to the President’s much-publicised declaration of a state of emergency on security? Was it a sincere commitment to restoring safety, or merely a rhetorical response to rising public anger?”
The party noted that the Presidency had announced the recruitment of tens of thousands of police officers as part of its emergency response but said the public had yet to see tangible results.
“Nigerians are entitled to know what has become of that promise. Have these recruits been employed, trained and deployed, or has the exercise quietly stalled? If such measures were genuinely implemented, vulnerable rural communities like those in Kwara State should not be left completely exposed to mass slaughter,” Abdullahi said.
The ADC further criticised what it described as “performative security responses,” alleging that heightened security actions last year appeared aimed at gaining international approval rather than delivering lasting safety.
“That brief display of urgency has since faded,” the party said, “raising legitimate concerns that the response was more about impressing foreign observers than securing the lives of Nigerians.”
Concluding, the ADC said Nigeria’s security crisis had moved beyond the competence of the current administration, calling on the Federal Government to be transparent with Nigerians.
“A government that cannot safeguard the lives of its people has failed in its most fundamental duty,” the statement said.
“Nigeria cannot continue on this path of denial and inaction. Lives are not statistics, and governance is not public relations.”
