Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd.), has attributed the prolonged fight against terrorism, banditry, and insurgency to the support criminal groups receive from sponsors and collaborators within local communities.
Speaking at the 2026 edition of The Platform Nigeria, a Democracy Day event organised by Pastor Poju Oyemade’s Covenant Nation, Musa said terrorists continue to thrive because they rely on civilians for critical resources, including intelligence, funding, food, water, and logistics.
Addressing the theme “Governance, Democracy and National Security,” the Defence Minister stressed that security agencies alone cannot overcome the country’s security challenges without active support from citizens.
“Everything revolves around the people. If the people are ready and willing to make changes, changes will occur. If the people are not willing, nothing will happen,” Musa stated.
He argued that terrorist groups survive largely because some individuals within affected communities continue to provide them with assistance.
“There are several stories of how people have aided them by giving them food, water and information, and these are the things that keep them going. We call this the oxygen,” he said.
Questioning the source of support sustaining criminal networks, Musa added: “Who are those funding them? Who are those giving them information? Who are those providing the logistics that keep them going? It is still the people.”
The minister further explained that modern security threats are more complicated than conventional warfare because enemies are often embedded within the same communities they target.
“Conventional warfare in the past used to be state-to-state, country-to-country, so you know who your enemy is. The most dangerous aspect of battles or campaigns is when the enemy is within,” he noted.
According to him, security personnel face the challenge of identifying hostile actors who may appear to be ordinary citizens.
“That individual whom you are protecting may be the number one enemy trying to take you out immediately he gets the chance,” Musa said.
He maintained that military operations would continue to face limitations if citizens fail to cooperate with security agencies.
“It is important for us to always remember that the armed forces and the security agencies, no matter what they do, if the people are not ready to support them, it makes the task extremely difficult,” he added.
Musa also called on Nigerians to remain united, warning that terrorists and criminal groups often exploit societal divisions to advance their objectives.
“We must continue to work in unity because it is these gaps that exist between us that these individuals see and try to widen in order to separate and divide us, and we must not let that happen,” he said.
