Nigeria Making Security Gains, CSOs Tell Critics

Two major civil society organisations have said Nigeria’s counter-terrorism campaign is recording major gains, even as they warned politicians against turning security challenges into campaign tools ahead of the 2027 elections.

The CSOs: Movement for the Survival of Izon Ethnic Nationality (MOSIEND) and the Congress of Youth Leaders of Nigeria (COYLON), in a joint statement signed by their presidents, Dr Kennedy Tonjo West, and Comrade Isaac Owoicho, respectively, said their assertion was based on the review of official security briefings, operational reports and independent assessments nationwide.

The groups said intelligence-led operations have intensified under the current security leadership, keeping Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and bandit networks under sustained pressure.

They cited Defence Headquarters updates indicating that terrorist enclaves in Sambisa Forest, the Timbuktu Triangle, the Lake Chad axis, and the Mandara Mountains have been overrun, along with armouries, weapons factories, fuel dumps, and supply routes.

Troops have recovered or destroyed large quantities of arms, ammunition, explosives, and operational vehicles, they added, while several commanders and fighters have been neutralised. Sustained military pressure, they said, had also compelled increasing numbers of insurgents and their families to surrender.

The resulting disruption to terrorist logistics and command structures, the groups argued, has weakened the insurgency operational reach and improved security in communities long troubled by attacks. They pointed to the recent rescue of abducted students and teachers in Oyo State as evidence of sharper intelligence coordination among the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Department of State Services.

Despite acknowledging these gains, MOSIEND and COYLON accused unnamed political actors of peddling unverified or inflated claims about the security situation for electoral mileage. “National security is too important to become a tool for political propaganda,” they said, cautioning against framing terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping in partisan or ethnic terms. They called on politicians to exercise restraint in their public statements, while tasking relevant agencies to investigate — in line with constitutional provisions — any credible allegations of terrorism financing, collaboration with criminal elements, incitement, or deliberate disinformation.

The groups also frowned on the spread of fabricated casualty figures and false reports of military operations, warning that such misinformation could erode public confidence in security institutions and sway public perception ahead of the 2027 electoral cycle.

MOSIEND and COYLON commended President Bola Tinubu, the National Security Adviser, the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Service Chiefs, and the Inspector-General of Police for what they called decisive leadership on the security front. They saluted troops on the frontlines for sacrifices that have helped reclaim territory and degrade terrorist networks, urging Nigerians to rally behind security agencies, reject misinformation, and support ongoing efforts toward lasting peace and national development.