Nigeria’s terror ranking exposes President Tinubu’s failure, says ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has declared that Nigeria’s ranking as the fourth most terrorism-affected country in the world exposes what it described as the failure of the administration of President Bola Tinubu to secure the country.

In a statement on Thursday, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the party, cited the 2026 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) report which placed Nigeria fourth among countries most affected by terrorism.

Abdullahi said the report shows a rise in attacks and increasing civilian casualties across the country and indicates a breakdown in governance rather than isolated security lapses.

His words: “Against the deeply troubling backdrop of yet another deadly terrorist attack in Borno State, where dozens of Nigerians have been killed and many more injured, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has reviewed the newly released Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2026, which delivers a clear and troubling verdict on the state of insecurity in Nigeria today.

“Nigeria is now ranked the 4th most terrorism-affected country in the world. That is not an abstract statistic. It is a direct reflection of the failure of the Bola Tinubu-led APC government to secure the country.”

Abdullahi said the GTI report showed that terror attacks in Nigeria rose by 43 percent, increasing from 120 incidents in 2024 to 171 in 2025.

He said the violence is increasingly concentrated in Borno State, which accounts for 67 percent of attacks and 72 percent of deaths.

“Most concerning, civilians now make up 67 percent of those killed. That is a measure of how exposed ordinary Nigerians have become.

“ISWAP is responsible for over half of all attacks and deaths across the country. Boko Haram remains active and deadly. New groups like Lakurawa are emerging, showing that Tinubu’s national security strategy is not containing the insecurity problem but expanding it,” he said.

He said the GTI report identified weak governance, internal instability, and economic hardship as drivers of terrorism.

“These outcomes point to something deeper than isolated security lapses. They reflect a breakdown in governance.

“The GTI identifies weak governance, internal instability, and economic hardship as key drivers of terrorism,” he stated.

He said the strategy includes improving intelligence coordination, decentralising policing, and shifting from reactive responses to preventive security operations.

His words: “First, we will fix coordination. Nigeria does not lack intelligence, it lacks coordination. The ADC will establish a legally mandated national intelligence coordination system, led by a Coordinator of National Intelligence, and a unified Joint Terrorism Task Force.

“The ADC will implement a decentralized policing system with federal, state, and community layers, each with clear roles and national standards.

“This will ensure faster response, clearer accountability, and security that reflects the local realities of the 774 local government areas.

“The ADC will build an intelligence-driven, preventive security system that is powered by data, early warning systems, and rapid response units in every state. Our focus will be to stop attacks before they happen, not merely respond after tragedy strikes.”