The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has launched a blistering attack on the Bola Tinubu administration, describing as “absurd and laughable” Nigeria’s request for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council at a time when bandits are slaughtering citizens and seizing control of parts of the country.
In a strongly worded statement on Friday, the party said the Federal Government’s global ambition was hypocritical, given its “shocking failure” to secure lives and territories at home.
“We wonder how a government that cannot ensure peace or security within its borders could demand a seat at the table where global security is negotiated — and expect to be taken seriously,” the party said.
Killing Fields and a Failing State
The ADC cited the latest massacre in Zamfara State, where armed men stormed a mosque in Yandoto village last Friday, killing worshippers and abducting several others. Just weeks earlier, over 45 people were killed and entire communities sacked in the same state. In Katsina, at least 47 were killed in a separate attack.
According to Amnesty International, more than 10,000 Nigerians have been killed by armed groups since May 2025, while over 140 people have died in Zamfara and Katsina alone in the past two months.
“These are not statistics; they were Nigerians. They were human beings this government promised renewed hope,” the statement said.
The party also highlighted how armed gangs in Zamfara have extorted over ₦56 million from farmers seeking access to their own farmlands.
“When non-state actors collect taxes, control access to farms, and kill with impunity, they are no longer mere criminals — they are a parallel government,” the ADC declared.
The party warned that the crisis had transcended mere insecurity and now posed a grave threat to Nigeria’s territorial integrity, accusing the Tinubu administration of “losing control” of parts of the country.
“In any serious nation, such a catastrophic breakdown of order would have triggered resignations, emergency meetings, and a strategic overhaul,” the statement continued. “Here, it only elicits routine condolence tweets from presidential propagandists.”
Global Ambitions, Local Failures
The ADC said it was “patently absurd” for the Tinubu government to seek a voice on global security matters when its own citizens are being “massacred without let or hindrance.”
“Until Nigeria shows the capacity and will to protect its people, its bid for a Security Council seat will remain a global joke,” the party said. “Leadership on the world stage begins with responsibility at home.”
Commander-in-Chief Missing in Action
The ADC also blasted President Tinubu for his absence at the commissioning of 874 officers at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) — the second time in two years he has missed the event.
“With the country on fire, we expected the Commander-in-Chief to use the occasion to inspire new officers, reassure northern Nigerians under siege, and show solidarity with victims. Instead, he chose to fly to Lagos to commission the renovation of the National Arts Theatre,” the statement noted.
The party accused the President of “misplaced priorities” and “tragic indifference,” warning that his inaction could create the impression that some Nigerian lives “matter less than others.”
“This is a President who was quick to declare a state of emergency over a political crisis in Rivers State but has remained silent over the existential crisis in Zamfara and Katsina,” the ADC lamented.
State of Emergency Demanded
The ADC concluded by demanding the immediate declaration of a state of emergency in Zamfara State, calling for decisive action to end the bloodshed and restore order.
“Villages are burning, prayers now end in gunfire, and the nation’s territorial sovereignty is being carved out by warlords. If this government cannot see the urgency of the situation, then it has no business talking about global leadership,” the statement said.
Full text of ADC statement reads:
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) finds it absurd that the Tinubu administration could be requesting a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council even as bandits slaughter Nigerians at home and take control of some of the nation’s territories. We, however, wonder how a government that cannot ensure peace or security at home could demand a seat at the table where global security is negotiated and expect to be taken seriously.
Only last Friday, gunmen, yet again, attacked a mosque in Yandoto village, Zamfara State, and massacred worshippers while abducting several others. Only a few weeks ago, in the same Zamfara State, no fewer than 45 Nigerians were killed, with entire villages sacked and dozens abducted. This was after a similar attack in Katsina State had left about 47 dead and several more injured or taken hostage. In just two months, more than 140 Nigerians have been murdered in Katsina and Zamfara alone. As of May 2025, Amnesty International reported over 10,000 lives lost in Nigeria to attacks by various armed groups. These are not numbers, they were human beings, they were Nigerians that this administration had promised renewed hope.
Only last month, the ADC alerted the public that armed gangs in Zamfara State had extorted over N56 million from farmers as a precondition to access their farmlands. Indeed, with the level of brigandage going on in that state, we are compelled to ask whether Zamfara is still part of Nigeria. Because when non-state actors collect taxes, control access to farms, and kill with impunity, they are no longer mere criminals, they are a parallel government.
The issue at hand is therefore no longer about insecurity alone, it is about the territorial integrity of Nigeria being willfully subverted under President Bola Tinubu. What is happening is not a mere failure of security. It is clear evidence, written in blood and piles of innocent bodies, of a government that has lost control. In any serious country, these situations would have triggered resignations, emergency meetings, and a strategic overhaul. Here, it only receives routine condolence tweets from presidential propagandists.
This is why we find it patently absurd that the same administration, under whose watch Nigerians are being massacred without let or hindrance, and under whose watch sundry bandits have taken control of parts of the nation’s territory, could stand before the world and ask to be admitted to the highest level of security conversations in the world.
Fortunately, the rest of the world can see beyond the fine speeches in New York, they see that parts of our country have turned into killing fields, they see that in our country, lives could be brutish, nasty, and short.
Nigeria’s request for a Security Council seat would indeed remain laughable until our government demonstrates both the capacity and the willingness to secure the lives of her own people. Leadership on the global stage must begin with responsibility at home. You cannot be asking to be admitted into the club of those who take the lives of their citizens seriously, while the very land you govern is soaked with the blood of the very people you have sworn to protect while you do nothing.
The ADC also condemns President Bola Tinubu for being absent from the commissioning of officers into the Nigerian military for the second year running. The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) held the passing-out parade and commissioning of 874 officers into the military last Saturday, but the Commander-in-Chief was once again missing in action.
With the dire security situation in the country, we would have expected the President to seize the occasion to inspire and charge the new officers to give their best in protecting the country and its people. We would have expected the President to seize the opportunity of being in Kaduna, at the apex military training institution in the country, to reassure the people of northern Nigeria of his commitment to protect them and their children, to give hope to Zamfara and Katsina, as well as other northern states under siege. But no, instead, the Commander-in-Chief chose to travel to his beloved Lagos to commission the renovation of the National Arts Theater.
What all this signals is that this administration is plagued by misplaced priorities. The President has become a passive spectator, watching from a safe distance, while villages burn and prayers end in gunfire. With its tragic indifference, this administration could indeed end up creating the dangerous perception that some lives in Nigeria matter less than others. A President that was quick to declare a state of emergency over a political crisis in Rivers but has nothing to say about the existential crisis in Zamfara and Katsina cannot claim to believe that all lives matter.
Once again, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) demands the immediate declaration of a state of emergency on the security situation in Zamfara State. It is time that the siege on that state was lifted and the tide of bloodletting ceased.
Signed:
Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi
National Publicity Secretary
African Democratic Congress (ADC)
27 SEPTEMBER 2025
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