The Minister of Defence has announced that Nigeria has defeated terrorism, stating that large-scale terrorist attacks are no longer rampant within the country.
The Minister maintained that while the threat of organised terrorism has diminished, the security landscape has evolved, with criminal elements shifting their primary focus toward kidnapping for ransom.
This assertion suggests a strategic transition in the country’s internal security challenges, implying that the capacity of insurgent groups to launch coordinated mass-casualty attacks has been significantly degraded.
The claim comes as the government seeks to assess the impact of ongoing military operations across the North East and North West. The Minister indicated that the reduction in traditional terrorist activity is a result of sustained pressure from the Nigerian Armed Forces and intelligence agencies.
However, the admission that attacks have largely shifted to kidnapping acknowledges a persistent and volatile security gap. This pivot toward abductions for financial gain has become a defining characteristic of insecurity in the North-West and North-Central zones, where banditry often overlaps with insurgent activity.
Evolution of security threats
For over a decade, Nigeria has battled the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram, particularly in the North East. The government’s claim of victory suggests that these groups no longer possess the territorial control or the operational strength to execute the wide-scale raids and bombings that characterised previous years.
The transition from ideological terrorism to economic crime complicates the security response. Unlike centralised terrorist organisations, kidnapping rings and bandit groups often operate as fragmented cells, making them harder to track and dismantle through conventional military sweeps. These groups frequently use forests as bases to launch raids on rural communities and highways.
The shift has had direct economic consequences, particularly for the agricultural sector. In many parts of the North, farmers have abandoned their lands due to the risk of abduction, which has contributed to food inflation and supply chain disruptions across the country.
The claim of defeating terrorism now places greater pressure on the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) to enhance intelligence-led operations. Since kidnapping is primarily a law enforcement and intelligence challenge rather than a full-scale military one, the focus must shift toward highway surveillance and community policing.
The federal government is expected to provide further data on the reduction of terrorist incidents to support these claims, while security agencies face the unresolved task of eradicating the kidnapping syndicates currently operating in the hinterlands.
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