Nigeria’s Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, has claimed that the recent spike in terrorist violence across the country is part of a coordinated effort to undermine the reform agenda of President Bola Tinubu, in remarks that are likely to intensify debate over the government’s handling of security.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the inauguration of the Nigeria Revenue Service headquarters, Akpabio alleged that the attacks were politically motivated and would subside once the president secured re-election.
“Two weeks after you win the elections, the bomb blasts will stop,” he said, addressing Tinubu directly. “People are sponsoring it to distract you from your work.”
The comments come at a moment of heightened insecurity and growing public unease, following a series of deadly incidents, including a controversial airstrike reported to have killed more than 100 civilians, and a United States advisory permitting the voluntary departure of non-essential embassy staff from Abuja.
Security strain and foreign backing
Nigeria continues to grapple with multiple, overlapping threats: the long-running insurgency by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province in the north-east, alongside banditry and kidnapping across the north-west and north-central regions.
Against this backdrop, Tinubu has stepped up high-level security engagements. On Monday, he held closed-door talks with the chief of defence staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, and a senior French military official at the Presidential Villa.
Sources familiar with the meeting described it as part of a broader effort to deepen international cooperation, coming weeks after the president announced an agreement with France to supply military equipment and training to Nigerian forces.
Defence of electoral umpire
Akpabio also used the occasion to defend the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Joash Amupitan, amid accusations of political bias linked to a resurfaced social media post.
Dismissing the controversy, the senate president argued that the statement—“victory is sure”—had been taken out of context and did not favour any political party.
“He did not say victory is sure for the APC or the PDP,” Akpabio said, adding that the remark predated Amupitan’s tenure as electoral chief and had been made when he was still an academic.
While acknowledging that individuals may hold personal political views before assuming office, Akpabio stressed the expectation of neutrality once entrusted with national responsibility.
Mounting scrutiny
The senate president’s suggestion that insecurity is being orchestrated for political ends is likely to draw scrutiny, particularly as Nigerians contend with the real-world consequences of escalating violence.
For critics, the remarks risk deflecting from pressing questions about state capacity and accountability. For supporters, they reinforce a narrative of entrenched resistance to reform.
Either way, the intersection of politics and security appears set to remain a defining fault line as Nigeria edges towards the 2027 elections.
