Atiku Calls for Overhaul of Nigeria’s Counterterrorism Framework, Says Current Approach Failing

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for an overhaul of Nigeria’s counterterrorism framework, saying the federal government’s current approach is failing to keep pace with evolving security threats. His words are contained in a statement issued on Thursday by his senior special assistant on public communication, Phrank Shaibu. 

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress said the spread of terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping beyond northern Nigeria shows that the country’s security architecture requires urgent reforms, as terrorists have continued to adapt their methods while government responses remain largely unchanged. 

Atiku lamented that one of the major weaknesses of the federal government’s approach is the failure to systematically extract lessons from previous attacks and use them to prevent future incidents. He urged the government to immediately initiate a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s national counterterrorism policy. 

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He added that such a review must be rooted in the country’s own experiences, drawing lessons from communities that have suffered attacks and developing context-specific, adaptive, and community-driven solutions rather than depending largely on foreign templates. He proposed the establishment of a terrorism violence peer review mechanism and a multi-layered counterterrorism strategy centred on intelligence gathering, technology, community participation, and the disruption of terror financing networks.