National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has said that Nigeria was at risk of disintegration before President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, citing widespread insecurity and economic instability across the country.

Ribadu made the statement while speaking at the 50th anniversary of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s 18th Regular Course in Abuja on Friday. He stated that the Tinubu administration inherited what he described as five major security threats affecting different regions of the country.

“When this administration took office on May 29, 2023, the security situation was threatening the very cohesion, stability, and integrity of our Nigerian state,” Ribadu said. “We inherited five intractable security challenges that had brought our nation to the brink.”

He listed Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, banditry in the North West and North Central, separatist agitations in the South East, oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta, and urban crime across various parts of the country as the key challenges.

According to Ribadu, Boko Haram and its affiliates had claimed over 35,000 lives, with millions displaced. He cited figures from conflict monitoring sources indicating that banditry had resulted in the deaths of more than 12,000 people and displaced over one million, while a similar number of children were reportedly out of school as of late 2021.

He referenced high-profile attacks in 2022 and 2023, including the Abuja-Kaduna train bombing, the assault on Guards Brigade troops in Abuja, the attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, and the Kuje Correctional Centre jailbreak.

On separatist violence, Ribadu said that between October 2020 and June 2021, the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, ESN, were responsible for attacks on 164 police stations, the deaths of 128 officers, and the injury of 144 more. He also said 30 prison attacks were recorded, including a jailbreak in Umuahia in which 1,841 inmates escaped.

Providing figures on counter-insurgency efforts, Ribadu said, “Our operations in the North East have yielded results. Over 13,543 terrorists and criminals eliminated, 124,408 Boko Haram fighters and family members surrendered, 11,118 weapons recovered, and more than 252,000 rounds of ammunition destroyed.”

In the Niger Delta, the NSA said crude oil production had increased from 1 million barrels per day to 1.8 million barrels, attributing the rise to improved security in oil-producing areas and the destruction of illegal refining sites.

“Our oil production today rose to an average of 1.8 million from 1 million that we inherited,” he said. “All oil pipelines are now green and operational. 1,978 illegal refineries, 3,849 dug-out pits, and 3,773 cooking ovens have been destroyed.”

Ribadu also disclosed that oil production is expected to resume in Ogoni land for the first time in over three decades.

On the situation in the South East, he noted a reduction in compliance with sit-at-home orders and reported that key IPOB/ESN commanders had been captured or killed. He added that over 50 police stations destroyed in earlier attacks had been rebuilt and that security personnel had returned to their posts in many affected areas.

“We are containing the separatist agitation through strategic operations and community engagements. Stay-at-home orders are becoming increasingly ineffective,” he said.

Ribadu stated that although challenges remain, the administration’s approach is yielding improvements in national security.