JUST IN: ADC Raises Alarm Over Al-Qaeda Presence In Kwara, Blames Tinubu Govt For Rising Insecurity

The African Democratic Congress coalition party has joined the United States in criticizing President Bola Tinubu’s administration, arguing that his indifferent approach toward insecurity has made the situation worse and that a terror cell supported by Al-Qaeda is spreading to Kwara.

“Under this regime, terror and bloodshed have spread to the center region as well as the far east and west of the north. Another terror group, JNIM, an Al-Qaeda affiliate that had been active in the Sahel region, announced a successful attack in Kwara State, which serves as a gateway to the southern part of the country, on October 31, 2025, the day President Trump expressed his concern about Nigeria, according to a statement from ADC. “There is an existential crisis that threatens all Nigerians, and it is not about any ethnic or religious group being targeted to kill.”

According to the coalition, since Mr. Tinubu took power in 2023, thousands of Nigerians have perished as a result of insurgency and violent acts.

Aso Rock was rocked by President Donald Trump’s Friday warning to use the U.S. military to invade Nigeria, as Mr. Tinubu, cabinet members, and supporters hurried to minimize the country’s long-standing insecurity crisis as not necessarily directed at Christians.

FCT minister Nyesom Wike and Femi Fani-Kayode, two of the president’s aides, have united with their leader in criticizing Mr. Trump for interfering in issues they said were outside of his purview.

Bolaji Abdullahi, the spokesperson for the ADC, claimed on Monday that not only was Mr. Tinubu’s administration full of justifications, but it also managed to increase the number of Nigerians killed by violence and insurgents to 15,000 in just over two years since taking office. He noted that entire communities and “worshippers have been slaughtered in religious spaces.”

The new coalition said that since this administration took office in 2023, “nearly 15,000 lives have been lost to sundry violent activities,” adding that the “deaths occurred across regions and religions.”

The coalition denounced Mr. Tinubu’s incapacity and refusal to admit that the problem had escalated under his leadership, noting his litany of justifications, even though ADC acknowledged that Mr. Tinubu inherited a country devastated by violence and insurgency.

The ADC declared, “President Tinubu did not initiate the issue of insecurity in Nigeria.” “The issue is that President Tinubu has refused to admit that the situation has gotten worse while he has been in office.”

According to the coalition, JNIM (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin) launched its first-ever attack against Nigerian soldiers and territory as a result of Mr. Tinubu’s mishandling of the country’s existential situation. The rebel group gained notoriety for its activities in Burkina Faso and Mali.

On Friday, the same day that Mr. Trump accused Mr. Tinubu’s administration of enabling Islamic terrorists to kill Christians in specific attacks, JNIM, a group supported by Al-Qaeda, boasted of unleashing mayhem that killed a Nigerian soldier.

Mr. Tinubu refuted the accusation, claiming that his administration was making every effort to apprehend those responsible and that Nigerians of various ethnicities and religions were victims of insecurity. But the president’s remarks have so far done little to inspire confidence, as the majority of Nigerians said

An “independent audit of operations, leadership, and strategy” was one of the recommendations made by ADC for a reform of the national security establishment.

The ADC encouraged the US government to help Nigeria develop the capacity to handle its own issues, warning that the possible mobilization of US forces to invade the country would undermine the country’s democracy.