Terrorists Now Setting Agenda For Tinubu Govt, Yoruba Union Says As Insecurity Forces School Shutdowns

Ikeja, Lagos State– The Yoruba socio-cultural group, Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration of losing control of Nigeria’s security architecture, following the increasing shutdown of schools due to terrorist attacks and mass abductions.

The Union said the decision of governments—federal and state—to close schools in response to rising insecurity is a dangerous signal that terrorists have effectively begun dictating the country’s security priorities.

According to the group, such developments are a clear indication that the Tinubu administration is no longer in charge of national security.

In a statement issued on Saturday by the Union’s Convener, Olusola Badero, and released through its Home Director, Princess Balogun, who lamented what she described as the “paralysis and indecision” of the federal government in confronting violent armed groups.

The Union said terrorists have turned kidnapping into a booming, well-coordinated business enterprise because of what it called the government’s failure to dismantle the networks responsible for the abductions ravaging the country.

According to them, the government’s preference for negotiating with terrorists—rather than eliminating them—has emboldened armed groups, allowing them to collect ransoms, retain their weapons, and expand their operations with little resistance.

The statement read, “If shutting down schools is now the government’s best strategy to prevent mass abductions, then it is obvious President Tinubu has lost the war against terrorism.

“Dialogue has failed repeatedly. Ransom payments have become routine. What this means is that Nigeria is no longer in control of its own security architecture—terrorists are.”

The Union stated that the closure of schools, is amounts to surrendering the education sector to terrorists who now operate with near-total freedom.

Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá further explained that many of the attackers are linked to the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, insisting that the federal government must immediately designate the group as a terrorist organisation—“except President Tinubu chooses to protect them.”

The group referenced the shocking abduction of 305 students and 12 teachers in Niger State, insisting that the operation demonstrated a level of coordination and audacity that exposes deep failures within Nigeria’s security institutions.

Yoruba Union also listed recent attacks such as the Eruku church abduction and the kidnapping of 25 female students in Kebbi State as examples of the government’s inability to anticipate or prevent large-scale violent crimes.

The Union warned that terrorists have already infiltrated parts of the Southwest but that the federal government has failed to launch any major surveillance or counter-terrorism operations to flush them out.

According to the group, farming communities across Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Kwara and part of Kogi States are now on edge, with many residents abandoning their farmlands due to fear of attack.

They further accused the Tinubu administration of refusing to empower local hunters and vigilantes with modern weapons capable of neutralising armed groups—insisting that these community security outfits are more familiar with the terrain than federal forces.

The Union said Nigeria is bleeding from every corner, while those entrusted with protecting citizens appear helpless, overwhelmed, and more concerned with 2027 politics than with saving lives.

The group criticised what they described as the President’s “obsession” with political survival ahead of the 2027 elections, alleging that the government is more concerned with consolidating political power than tackling the current wave of terror, economic hardship, and national instability.

“While the country bleeds, President Tinubu appears more concerned with securing a life sentence for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“Justice Omotosho’s ruling reads like a script from Aso Rock. Meanwhile, has Kanu’s imprisonment stopped killings or kidnappings? Absolutely not,” the Union ask.

Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá demanded the immediate resignation of President Tinubu, accusing him of lacking the political will, competence, and strategy required to govern a complex security-challenged country like Nigeria.

“It is now clear that President Tinubu has run out of ideas. He refuses to take responsibility for the collapse of the country’s security system. Nigeria is burning, and his administration is watching helplessly,” they added.

With schools being closed, communities deserted, and terrorists growing bolder, the Yoruba Union insists that unless decisive action is taken immediately, Nigeria risks sliding further into a state where armed groups—not the government—determine the future of education, national safety, and territorial control.