President Bola Tinubu‘s National Security Advisor (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, has said that the record of crimes and activities of criminals is going down in Nigeria.

Development Diaries reports that Ribadu made this known while briefing journalists following the new service chiefs’ first meeting with President Bola Tinubu.

Responding to the security chiefs’ plans to improve the country’s security, Ribadu said, ‘Where we are today, and you can see already things are improving in our country.

‘If you see the record of crimes and activities of criminals are going down, it will continue to go down. We’ll secure this place’.

Ribadu’s comments suggest that Nigeria’s security has improved, but verifiable data shows a contrary situation.

Figures from the Nigerian Security Tracker of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) weekly update, from 10 to 16 June, 2023, shows that 86 people were killed and 33 kidnapped in different regions of the country.

There have also been reports of attacks in Plateau and Niger states, where bandits killed 50 farmers in Rafi communities and rustled livestock.

Also, in early June 2023, unknown gunmen attacked residents of Chafe local government of Zamfara State.

In a separate attack in June, at least 30 persons were killed in Gwadabawa and Tangaza areas of Sokoto State by bandits after residents refused to pay illegal levies imposed on them.

A major security concern that needs an urgent response is the activity of kidnappers across the country, especially in the northwest and north-central subregions.

Another priority is ending the over-a-decade terrorism in Nigeria’s northeast, which has resulted in more than 40,000 fatalities and two million displaced people.

In the southeast, the security operatives also have to deal with the activities of separatist groups.

Development Diaries, therefore, calls on the NSA to base future security comments on facts as the country is still grappling with numerous security challenges that require decisive actions.

Photo source: Nuhu Ribadu