Buratai Raises Alarm: Police Weakness Forces Soldiers onto Streets

Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.), a former chief of army staff, has cautioned that the expansion of the Nigerian Police Force and other civilian security organizations is being hampered by the military’ pervasiveness throughout the country’s 36 states.
According to reports, military forces are presently supporting internal security operations throughout Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory.

However, Buratai contended that the development was undermining the Nigeria Police Force’s capabilities on Monday while giving the keynote speech at the 2026 Armed Forces Celebration and Remembrance Day lecture in Abuja.

According to Buratai, “the widespread use of the Armed Forces of Nigeria in internal security provides immediate stability, but it also perpetuates a cycle of dependency that weakens civil police capacity and strains defense resources.”

He claims that the scenario has led to a hazardous imbalance where the Armed Forces are less prepared for conventional threats, the military is overstretched, and defense budgets are diverted to regular policing responsibilities.

According to Buratai, the Armed Forces of Nigeria’s main duties under the constitution are to defend the country from foreign attack, maintain territorial integrity, put down uprisings, and support civil authorities as needed.

But he emphasized that the police and state security agencies should be at the vanguard of an intelligence-driven, civilian-led approach to internal security.

“The state intelligence services and the police should essentially be in charge of civil and intelligence-driven internal security,” he stated.

He cautioned that the military’s primary duty of protecting the nation from outside dangers cannot be permanently replaced by tasks related to development and internal security.

According to Buratai, “the Armed Forces of Nigeria remain a vital force for national development and stability, but its expanded internal role must not compromise its core mandate or weaken civilian institutions.”

In order to maintain the military’s preparedness for its primary purpose, the former army chief urged for a comprehensive, time-bound, and conditions-based disengagement strategy that would progressively transfer internal security responsibilities to civilian authorities.