Somtochukwu Maduagwu: A Wake to Tinubu’s Slumber on Security

The tragic death of Arise TV anchor Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu, following a robbery incident at her residence in Katampe, Abuja, on September 29, 2025, has triggered shock, grief, anger, and despair with the Nigerian security situation under President Bola Tinubu. 

This horror cannot be dismissed as an isolated crime. It lays bare a far deeper malaise under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s watch: the collapse of security even in Abuja, the Federal Capital, a place which ought to be the most secure in Nigeria because it is the seat of power and the President lives here. Abuja, which ought to represent order, dignity, and safety,  now has citizens afraid to stop at traffic lights for fear of robbery or mindless violent attacks. Residents have become reluctant to move freely in the city. That such crimes are happening in uptown Katampe, in the early hours, shows not just opportunistic crime but a breakdown of law enforcement, intelligence, vigilance, and deterrence.

Under the Tinubu administration, security has worsened dramatically in many parts of Nigeria. Amnesty International reported that within the two years since President Tinubu assumed office (May 2023 – May 2025), over 10,217 Nigerians have been killed in attacks by armed groups across several states. Among those, 6,896 deaths in Benue state, and 2,630 in Plateau state. Villages continue to be sacked; many people abducted; thousands displaced. In just one year under Tinubu, civil society records showed 4,416 people killed and 4,334 abducted in mass atrocity-like incidents.

To assess how insecure we have become when compared to previous administrations, we need context. What did previous administrations do, and how do their numbers compare? Under President Muhammadu Buhari (2015–2023), over 63,111 persons were reportedly killed in eight years due to terrorism, banditry, communal conflicts, herder–farmer clashes, extra-judicial killings, etc. In Buhari’s first term (2015-2019), a Nigeria Security Tracker report estimated 25,794 deaths in violent crises. Under Jonathan (Goodluck Jonathan’s term before 2015), death tolls were much lower, not only in numbers, but in terms of distribution, although challenges were serious. For example, in the first 10 months of Jonathan’s elected presidency (May 2011-March 2012), about 2,059 lives were lost to insecurity. Under Tinubu, in 10 months (May 2023-March 2024), 6,931 people have been reported killed, though somewhat lower than deaths in Buhari’s first 10 months.

One of the oft-heard criticisms of previous presidents (including Jonathan) was that “the buck stops with the president,” that the President must take ultimate responsibility for the security condition of the nation. Tinubu’s own criticism has often leaned on the idea that he is a strategist who will bring order, security, and competence. But the experiences of Nigerians living in Abuja, and many other states tell a different story; failure of intelligence, of rapid response, and a lack of foresight or proactivity in preventing even basic crimes. Terrorist groups, bandits, armed gangs, and herders are overrunning many regions. From bandit-controlled villages in Zamfara to ongoing Boko Haram/ISWAP attacks in the Northeast, nowhere seems immune. States like Kwara and Niger, once considered relatively stable, are now under siege. The violence is no longer contained; its geography is expanding.

It is striking that amid all this, the Tinubu-led administration seems more vigorous when dealing with external crises than domestic ones. For instance, the United Nations General Assembly outing, which Nigeria was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, focused heavily on foreign policy issues like Palestine, while Nigerians are dying in their homes, getting robbed, abducted, killed in villages, terrorized in their states, and even being slain in its capital. Every president must engage in global diplomacy, but the security of lives and property comes first.  

The security of lives and property must be top of mind. If President Tinubu has been sleeping, let this incident wake him up. Nigerians are dying. He needs to show Nigerians the strategist he claims to be. He must ensure Abuja is made secure, not just in speech but with visible policing, intelligence gathering, presence, community trust, strengthening law enforcement capacity, accountability, and rapid response systems. 

Also, he must prioritize internal security even as other policy issues demand attention, and work with civil society, local governments, and communities to build intelligence networks and prevent crime before it happens, root out corruption, impunity, and structural weaknesses in the security apparatus.

Nigerians do not all have the option of fleeing the country. They need to live. They need to work, travel, stop at traffic lights, and sleep in their homes. They deserve a government that secures them, not one where fear is always lurking in the next moment.

If Tinubu and the APC cannot guarantee even the most basic duty of keeping citizens alive and safe, Nigerians must not sit on the fence with arms folded. The opposition must rise from slumber, bury petty quarrels, and forge a united front. Enough is enough. Nigeria cannot afford four more years of insecurity, impunity, and decay. 2027 must be the year Nigerians make meaningful and impactful decisions.