Federal Government has been advised to adopt intelligence-driven security operations and dismantle criminal financing networks as part of efforts to address Nigeria’s insecurity challenges.

This advice was given by a security consultant, Olufemi Adeniji, in an interview with The Guardian in Lagos.

Adeniji expressed worries that Nigeria’s security crisis had become increasingly complex, requiring a coordinated national response, rather than reliance on military force alone.

He regretted that various regions of the country had continued to grapple with different forms of insecurity, including insurgency and terrorism in the North-East, banditry and mass kidnappings in the North-West, farmer-herder clashes in the North-Central region and separatist-related violence in parts of the Southeast.

Adeniji noted that insecurity had also spread to the South-West, citing recent kidnapping incidents in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, as evidence that no region of the country was immune to the threat.

Adeniji opined that while military operations were critical, the quickest gains could be achieved through improved intelligence gathering and targeted efforts to cripple the financial structures sustaining criminal groups.

Adeniji called for a shift from reactive security deployments to intelligence-led operations capable of identifying and neutralising criminal and terrorist leaders before attacks occur.

SIMILARLY, a security expert, Dr Charles Omole, has described the current Nigerian security crisis as “extraordinary” and has demanded “extraordinary measures”.

“The reality is that we are facing an extraordinary security crisis. Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures,” he said.

Omole, in a post on X yesterday titled, ‘Dealing with Increasing National Security Crisis’, noted that one of Nigeria’s biggest challenges was the tendency of government officials to believe that they have a monopoly on knowledge and solutions, especially on security matters.

He accused them of often ignoring valuable advice, including recommendations from the National Assembly, retired security professionals, academics, policy experts, community leaders, and ordinary citizens with practical insights.

“Supporting the government does not mean pretending that every approach is working. In fact, true support requires honesty.

He suggested that the Federal Government should declare a National Security Emergency—not as a sign of failure, but as a demonstration of urgency and seriousness, adding that such a declaration should be followed immediately by the convening of a high-level, non-partisan expert group comprising serving and retired security professionals, intelligence experts, technologists, academics, community leaders, and policy practitioners to identify quick wins and innovative interventions that can be implemented without delay.