President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, on Wednesday defended Tinubu’s 2014 call for former President Goodluck Jonathan to resign following the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls.

Tinubu, then an opposition leader, had argued that Jonathan’s handling of the mass kidnapping demonstrated a failure of leadership.

The Chibok abduction, the first major mass school kidnapping in Nigeria, drew global attention and signalled a deterioration of security at the time.

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Bwala said Tinubu’s demand was “legitimate” given the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“In the days of Jonathan, they didn’t have an idea of the solution. Why did I say that? They were in denial about the Chibok girls’ kidnapping,” he said.
“When President Tinubu, then Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, called for Jonathan’s resignation, it was a legitimate call.”

Bwala argued that the security landscape during Jonathan’s administration differed significantly from the present situation. He claimed that terrorists had established control in some communities and were collecting taxes.

Defending the current administration’s response to terrorism, Bwala said Tinubu had adopted a zero-tolerance policy on negotiating with kidnappers.

“There was a time the federal government was negotiating (with terrorists)… because if your duty is to preserve the lives of people, and negotiation is the only way to save them, then you have to do all that you need to do to save them at that time,” he said.

He added that ransom payments strengthened criminal groups by enabling them to acquire weapons.

“But President Tinubu came with this zero tolerance on negotiation because it didn’t fit into the terrorism financing,” Bwala said. “You are constructively financing terrorism without knowing it.”

According to him, the administration is avoiding actions that could provide financial support to terrorist networks.

“So the federal government does not tolerate the idea of negotiation,” he said.

His comments come as Nigeria faces renewed concerns over school kidnappings and wider security breaches across multiple states.

The recurrence of mass abductions has prompted scrutiny of the federal government’s strategies to address terrorism and protect vulnerable populations.