Legal expert urges Tinubu to declare national emergency on banditry, kidnapping, terrorism
Asiwaju Kunle Kalejaye (SAN), Ibadan-based Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a national emergency on banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism across Nigeria. Making the call in his Democracy Day message today, Kalejaye described the persistent terror wave as a national embarrassment to Nigeria before the international community.
He warned that failure to act swiftly could further erode public confidence in security institutions, particularly the Nigerian Army, which risks being seen as incapable of defending the nation. Kalejaye noted that criminals increasingly disguise themselves in military uniforms while operating, damaging the armed forces' prestige and integrity. He stressed that current government efforts may yield limited results without a clear national declaration showing collective resolve to eliminate terrorism.
The legal icon urged concrete strategies to crush terrorist activities, noting perpetrators' operations now extend from remote communities into major towns and cities. He asserted that protecting lives and property remains a foremost constitutional responsibility, requiring proactive threat identification rather than reactive responses. Kalejaye insisted President Tinubu must immediately declare national emergency to demonstrate Nigeria's total abhorrence of terrorism and determination to eradicate it.
Will declaring a national emergency effectively address Nigeria's growing security crisis, or would it risk undermining civil liberties without solving root causes like poverty and unemployment that fuel banditry and kidnapping?