Security experts have raised concerns that Nigeria’s escalating insecurity is being exacerbated by foreign actors collaborating with local elements. They urged President Bola Tinubu to confront external sponsors of terrorism and strengthen domestic capacities to address the crisis.

Prof. Isaac Albert, former Dean at the University of Ibadan, said foreign powers fear a stable Nigeria and have supported criminal groups to prevent the country from asserting regional and global influence. He noted that Nigeria’s security challenges worsened after its military interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leone, attributing sophisticated terrorist tactics to external backing.

“There are actors who do not want a strong, stable Nigeria. They prefer to keep us in perpetual internal discord, weakening our military and fostering mistrust,” Albert said. He called for political will, intelligence cooperation, tighter borders, and governance reforms alongside military action.

Similarly, Dennis Amachree, former DSS Director, warned that Nigeria is “under siege” from well-funded armed groups supported from abroad. Highlighting attacks on churches and military personnel, he stressed that the threat is existential. Amachree urged the government to identify and prosecute financiers of terrorism and publicly expose sponsors to dismantle the “architecture of terror” undermining the nation.