A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (retd.), has linked Nigeria’s prolonged insurgency to what he described as a fatal policing failure in 2009.
The ex-army chief said the killing of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, after his arrest marked the turning point that pushed the extremist sect into a full-blown war against the Nigerian state.
Speaking in Abuja at the 7th Annual Lecture of the Just Friends Club of Nigeria, Dambazau explained that the Boko Haram uprising was originally a manageable security issue.
He noted that the situation escalated because the police mishandled the arrest and execution of Yusuf, a move he said fueled recruitment and sympathy for the group.
His words, “I can tell you Boko Haram started as a local issue. An issue, you know, that was triggered by a law on wearing a crash-helmet….”
He further stated that Yusuf and his followers were handed over to the police after the army stormed the sect’s base in Maiduguri, but the police “executed them in front of the camera,” sparking global outrage and giving militants propaganda material to attract followers.
Dambazau stressed that the crisis could have been prevented if internal security agencies had acted professionally and with accountability.
He argued that the incident exposed Nigeria’s weak policing culture and contributed to years of bloodshed in the northeast.
He also noted that troops are overstretched due to responsibilities that should be handled by the police.
According to him, soldiers are now deployed for routine security duties instead of protecting the nation’s borders — a trend he believes weakens national defence capacity.
Beyond Boko Haram, the retired general blamed banditry and rising insecurity in the northwest on neglect, poverty, and governance failures.
He warned that Nigeria cannot rely “on bullets alone,” insisting that development, education, and local intelligence networks must be strengthened to restore peace.
Dambazau, who also served as Minister of Interior, criticised security spending and alleged that many budget items are contractor-driven and irrelevant to operational needs.
He lamented that funds are often not fully released, saying true security requires investment in citizens, not just weapons.
Other security experts at the event echoed similar concerns. A former senior Air Force officer, Air Vice Marshal Gbolahan Adekunle (retd.), warned that Nigeria continues to waste resources by retiring highly-trained officers too early.
He cited an incident in Gwoza where radicalised teenage girls detonated bombs, stressing that extremism has evolved beyond traditional warfare.
A security scholar, Prof. Okey Ikechukwu, said disconnection between citizens and government weakens intelligence gathering. He also faulted global arms interests for fuelling conflict in Africa.
The President of the Just Friends Club of Nigeria, Fred Ohwahwa, urged decisive domestic action against insecurity, noting that weak state responses invite external interference.
Meanwhile, recall that security analysts earlier warned that the killing of Mohammed Yusuf without trial deepened radicalisation in the northeast and laid the foundation for the extremist group’s expansion.
That development eventually led to years of violence, mass displacement, and thousands of deaths across the region.