Locals’ Support for Terrorists Fuels Insecurity- Defence Minister

Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has revealed that the support some locals provide to terrorist groups is undermining the country’s efforts to tackle insecurity.

Musa said many individuals are aiding armed groups by providing food, water, and critical information, describing such assistance as the oxygen fueling the menace.

“Who is funding them? Who are those giving them information? Who are those giving them the logistics that keep them going? It is still the people,” Musa said.

Nigeria has faced a prolonged insecurity crisis for more than a decade, driven by armed groups operating across several regions of the country.

The Defence Minister noted that warfare in the past was largely between clearly defined state actors, but said today’s threats are embedded within communities.

“Conventional warfare in the past used to be state to state, country to country, so you know who your enemy is. The most dangerous aspects of battle or campaign is when the enemy is within,” he said.

Musa stressed that the armed forces and other security agencies cannot defeat terrorism without citizens’ cooperation, urging Nigerians to support security operations and report suspicious activities.

“We must continue to work in unity because it is these gaps that exist between us that this individual sees and tries to expand to separate us and divide us, and we must not let that happen,” he said.

He also quoted President Bola Tinubu, saying: “Nigeria will not surrender to fear. We will not allow terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, or violent extremists to define who we are as a people.”