The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned the killing of about 170 people in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, describing the attack as damning evidence of the total collapse of security under the Tinubu-led Federal Government.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party questioned the effectiveness of President Bola Tinubu’s much-publicised declaration of a state of emergency on security and the promised recruitment of thousands of police officers, noting that the continued wave of mass killings across the country suggests that these measures were either ineffective or merely rhetorical.
The ADC also raised concerns that the heightened security posture witnessed last year—following public comments by the President of the United States on Nigeria’s insecurity—may have been more about earning international approval than implementing a genuine, sustainable strategy to protect lives.
According to the party, the scale and frequency of killings since then clearly show that whatever measures the government has adopted are not working, arguing that the current security approach is merely redistributing terror rather than eliminating it.
Full Statement
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) 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. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the people of Kwara State, who have once again been abandoned to mourn their dead in a nation that appears incapable of protecting its citizens.
What makes this tragedy even more troubling are growing concerns, as noted by several analysts, that the perpetrators may be terrorist elements displaced by the United States’ Christmas Day military action in Sokoto State, who are now relocating to other parts of the country due to weak internal security coordination. The grim conclusion from this development—now made evident by industrial-scale killings in areas previously considered safe—is that the Tinubu administration is not winning the war against terror; it is merely redistributing it.
Whether it is the mass abductions in Kaduna or the mass killings in Kwara, both highlight deep structural failures in Nigeria’s internal security architecture, particularly in intelligence gathering, border control, inter-agency coordination, and emergency response capability.
Nigerians are therefore compelled to ask serious questions. What has become of the President’s much-publicised declaration of a state of emergency on security announced in November 2025? Was it a sincere commitment to restoring safety, or merely a rhetorical response to mounting domestic and international pressure?
The ADC recalls that the Presidency also announced a major recruitment drive into the Nigeria Police Force as part of this emergency response. Tens of thousands of new personnel were reportedly approved for recruitment. Nigerians deserve clear answers: Have these recruits been employed, trained, and deployed, or has the exercise quietly stalled? If such measures were genuinely implemented, rural communities like those in Kwara State should not be left completely exposed to mass slaughter.
We are equally disturbed by the pattern of performative security responses witnessed last year, when Nigeria briefly projected an image of urgency following public comments by the President of the United States. That posture has since faded, reinforcing concerns that the response was more about impressing foreign observers than securing the lives of Nigerians.
The painful truth is that Nigeria’s security crisis has moved beyond the competence and capacity of the Tinubu-led Federal Government. Killings have become routine, accountability has vanished, and official responses have been reduced to condolences after each tragedy—ignoring the fact that any government unable to protect its citizens has failed in its most fundamental duty.
The African Democratic Congress therefore calls on the Federal Government to immediately come clean with Nigerians on the true state of national security, account for the police recruitment it announced, and explain how it intends to halt the spread and relocation of terrorist groups across the country.
Nigeria cannot continue on this path of denial and inaction. Lives are not statistics, and governance is not public relations. The ADC stands firmly with Nigerians in demanding competent leadership, honest governance, and a security strategy that protects lives rather than reacts after mass graves have been dug.
