Pastor Bakare Calls for Emergency Security Halt

Pastor Tunde Bakare, the serving overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, has publicly urged the Federal Government to implement emergency measures to combat escalating terrorism. He specifically called for the temporary suspension of all non-essential mass gatherings in vulnerable areas nationwide, advocating that these zones be placed under intensified emergency patrols.

Bakare made his urgent plea during a “State of the Nation” news conference titled “The Darkness before Dawn,” held at his church in Lagos on Sunday. He acknowledged that such measures might appear to be a militarization of affected communities, but insisted they remain essential and temporary steps required to neutralize terrorism and prevent further mass kidnappings in Nigeria.

The cleric lamented that terrorist groups have visibly intensified their attacks on Nigerian citizens since the U.S. President, Donald Trump, redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). The U.S. decision was based on allegations of government-tolerated killing of Christians.

Bakare provided a chilling timeline of recent attacks, noting that within a single week, troops were ambushed and some killed. Additionally, dozens of secondary school students were abducted in Kebbi State, and a church in Kwara State was attacked, with worshippers kidnapped and some killed. Hundreds of students from St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri town, Niger State, were also abducted.

The pastor noted the disturbing correlation, stating: “The level of insecurity seems to have worsened in response to the global focus on Nigeria as terrorists and bandits brazenly dared the Nigerian state.” While he expressed relief at the release of some victims, including the Kebbi schoolgirls and the Kwara church worshippers, he stressed that the continued attacks underscore the need for “fundamental interventions.”

These necessary interventions, he argued, must address the very essence of Nigeria’s nationhood and the quality of governance in both domestic and foreign policy contexts. Bakare contended that years of leadership failure to confront the nation’s underlying crises have finally come to a disastrous head.

He voiced his dismay that it took the United States Congress—not the nation’s own elected National Assembly—to convene a hearing on the lived experiences of citizens suffering under the rampant insecurity.

To strategically position Nigeria in the shifting global order, Bakare called for an integrated approach involving a critical review of governance structures, security architecture, and geo-economic strategy. He stressed that his long-standing political activism has been guided by the realization that “The best of the North and the best of the South must come together at the table of brotherhood to forge a strong and united Nigeria.”

The cleric identified the failure of state institutions over the years as the core problem, transforming localized revolts and grievances into vicious terrorist movements and organized criminality. He stated that the state’s failure over decades to resolve disputes between Hausa farmers and Fulani pastoralists allowed local tensions to “mutate into a sophisticated and deeply entrenched network of terror.”

Bakare insisted that regardless of whether the violence is motivated by land grab, ethnicity, religion, or a combination of factors, the situation reflects the height of government failure to guarantee the security and welfare of its people. He asserted that the Nigerian state has an ethical and legal responsibility to invade the camps of armed marauders who invade defenceless communities and massacre unarmed citizens.

Finally, the pastor addressed separatist movements, noting that the reaction from groups like the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Eastern Security Network (ESN), and the so-called “unknown gunmen” ranges from a legitimate revolt against the state to sheer criminality. He argued that the trial and sentencing of Biafran separatist Nnamdi Kanu has tended to reopen old wounds, making it imperative for Nigeria to “truly heal from the Civil War.” He specifically called for the Nigerian state to take concessionary steps to ensure equity for the South East.

The cleric said that at the 2014 National Conference, the progressives were convinced that Nigeria does not need the creation of additional states. He added that they strongly believed that what was needed was the consolidation of states into geopolitical zones, rather than the further balkanization of non-viable states.