Professor Akinyemi warns terrorists operate freely in some states and urges penalties for officials and governors allegedly engaging them directly.
Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, elder statesman and former Foreign Affairs Minister, has accused some state governments of enabling terrorist operations by engaging with armed groups and failing to take decisive action against them.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Wednesday, he called for sweeping security measures including large scale military recruitment, emergency rule, military tribunals and the suspension of constitutional immunity for governors.
Akinyemi supported the call for immediate expansion of the Nigerian armed forces, stressing that current troop numbers are inadequate to confront widespread insecurity. “I agree with the need for large-scale recruitment to expand the Nigerian armed forces. The soldiers that are there now, they are overstretched… So we need to address these shortcomings,” he said. He also backed proposals to recall recently retired personnel, saying, “I also agree that those who have retired under the Armed Forces Act in the last six months should be recalled.”
Explaining his recommendation for a state of emergency and military tribunals, Akinyemi said the measures were necessary to prevent foreign intervention and to respond decisively to terrorism. “Let me say that I am motivated to make these suggestions in order to head off any practical moves by Trump… we are not just talking,” he stated. He added that, “That’s why I said we should have state of emergency. Because I am quite aware that we cannot have a military tribunal if we are having a democracy.”
He warned that terrorists are spreading across multiple regions. “These terrorists are running amok… they are in the northwest, they are in the middle belt… When do you then want to come to a conclusion that actually they have overrun the whole of the country?”
According to him, emergency powers would grant government the flexibility required to act. “And with a state of emergency, it allows the government to do things which it cannot do when you are stuck in the national assembly… You have a military tribunal which allows you to deal with the situation in a way expeditiously.”
Akinyemi also claimed many of the fighters are foreigners. “It also allows you to actually deport them from Nigeria. Because these are not Nigerians, and you know it and we know it.” He defended his suggestions against criticism, arguing that similar measures exist in other democracies. “These propositions… on the surface may look like they are anti democratic… but we need to look at what the United States is doing… go to Guantanamo Bay where they have military tribunals to deal with terrorists.”