ADC criticises Tinubu’s UN Security Council bid, citing worsening insecurity and government failure to protect lives in Zamfara and across Nigeria.
Abuja, Nigeria — The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has fiercely criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for seeking a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, arguing that Nigeria is in no position to assume expanded global responsibilities while rampant insecurity and banditry continue unchecked at home.
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In a strongly worded statement issued on Sunday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, described the request as “absurd”, citing ongoing killings, abductions, and lawlessness in states like Zamfara and Katsina.
“The ADC finds it absurd that the Tinubu administration could be requesting a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, even as bandits slaughter Nigerians at home and take control of some of the nation’s territories,” the statement read.
The ADC referenced the recent massacre of worshippers in Yandoto village, Zamfara State, and a spate of attacks that have claimed over 140 lives in the last two months.
The party also highlighted a disturbing development in Zamfara, where armed gangs have allegedly extorted over ₦56 million from local farmersseeking access to their own land — a situation the ADC said amounted to the emergence of a “parallel government.”
“Indeed, with the level of brigandage going on in that state, we are compelled to ask whether Zamfara is still part of Nigeria,” the statement read.
“When non-state actors collect taxes, control access to farms, and kill with impunity, they are no longer mere criminals.”
According to the ADC, the issue has now gone beyond a mere security failure, escalating into a full-blown threat to Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
“What is happening is not a mere failure of security. It is clear evidence, written in blood and piles of innocent bodies, of a government that has lost control,” the party stated.
Amnesty International had earlier reported that over 10,000 Nigerians have been killed by armed groups as of May 2025.
The ADC also condemned President Tinubu’s absence at the Nigerian Defence Academy’s passing-out parade, where 874 military officers were commissioned last Saturday.
Noting that the president similarly missed the event in 2024, the party criticised his decision to attend a cultural event in Lagos instead, specifically the commissioning of the renovated National Arts Theatre.
“We would have expected the President to seize the occasion to inspire and charge the new officers to give their best in protecting the country and its people,” Abdullahi noted.
“The President has become a passive spectator, watching from a safe distance while villages burn and prayers end in gunfire.”
As part of its recommendations, the ADC urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara State, calling for swift and decisive action to restore order and stop the bloodshed.
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“We cannot continue to bury our citizens while pretending that all is well,” the statement concluded.
