Nigeria’s Defense Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar has resigned with immediate effect, the President said on Monday.
Presidential spokesman Mayo Onanuga said in a statement Abubakar is stepping down due to health reasons.
“His resignation comes amid President [Bola] “Tinubu plans to declare a national security emergency and detail its scope in due course,” the spokesperson said.
Nigeria’s armed banditry is a security crisis
Nigeria has long been plagued by mass kidnappings, but the past weeks have seen an increase in attacks and kidnappings by armed bandits.
Recently, gunmen attacked a church in Kogi state in central Nigeria, abducting the pastor along with about a dozen worshipers during a Sunday morning service.
On Saturday, about 30 women, including a bride and wedding guests, were abducted in Sakoko, north-western Nigeria.
According to Nigeria’s Punch newspaper, a total of about 490 people have been kidnapped in several states in the last two weeks.
The vast majority of these came from St. Mary’s private Catholic boarding school in Papiri, Niger state, where 315 people, mostly children, were abducted in late November. About 50 children managed to escape.
Armed bandits operating in the North-West and North-Central regions of Nigeria frequently carry out kidnappings for ransom.
Along with banditry, Nigeria is also battling a deadly Islamist insurgency in its northwestern regions.
But the Nigerian government has long been criticized for failing to contain the security crisis, and particularly to protect schools.
security forces weakened
In the wake of the kidnappings, President Tinubu declared a state of security emergency and ordered mass recruitment of police and military personnel.
But the army and police are already underpaid, short of equipment and in need of training.
“In remote villages and towns, state security agents are virtually non-existent and surveillance remains very poor,” says Oluwole Ojewale, regional coordinator for the Institute for Security Studies, an African think tank. Analysis,
According to one, Nigeria only has about 370,000 officers to protect its 220 million citizens. UK government’s assessmentAnd a significant number of these are used to protect wealthy individuals.
The assessment shows that corruption and bribery are common, while police response to crimes is often slow.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar