Presidential spokesperson Daniel Bwala has alleged that foreign interests are contributing significantly to Nigeria’s prolonged security challenges, arguing that external actors and cross-border terrorism have complicated efforts to restore peace across the country.
Bwala, who serves as Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communications, made the remarks while speaking on The Link Up Podcast organised by Echoo Room.
According to him, one of the major drivers of insecurity in Nigeria is the persistent terrorist activity in neighbouring Sahel countries, whose porous borders allow armed groups to launch attacks into Nigeria before retreating across international boundaries.
He said the regional nature of terrorism has made Nigeria’s security challenges more difficult to contain.
“Nigeria is also a country where there are foreign interests against the country,” Bwala said.
The presidential aide also questioned the activities of some international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that moved into Borno State following the outbreak of the Boko Haram insurgency.
He said some of the organisations reportedly rented residential properties for periods ranging between 10 and 15 years, raising questions about how they anticipated such prolonged operations at the onset of the humanitarian crisis.
“Many years ago, when Boko Haram started in Borno State, the non-governmental organisations that came for humanitarian purposes, so to speak, came and were renting houses for 10 to 15 years.
How do you know you will need to stay for 10 to 15 years? What kind of projection did you do?” he asked.
Bwala further claimed that Nigerian security agencies had, on several occasions, arrested foreign nationals among suspected Boko Haram fighters apprehended during military operations.
According to him, the presence of foreign fighters within terrorist groups demonstrates that external elements are actively sustaining the insurgency.
“The army on many occasions has arrested Boko Haram members, and in their midst you will find foreign nationals.
These are some of the elements that are not only fuelling the crisis, but they make the end to the crisis difficult,” he said.
He added that the Nigerian military deliberately refrains from publicly identifying the nationalities of foreigners arrested alongside Boko Haram suspects for security and operational reasons.
Bwala maintained that addressing Nigeria’s security crisis requires recognising both domestic and cross-border dimensions of the insurgency, including the influence of regional terrorist networks operating across the Sahel.