Nigeria’s incoming Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, has acknowledged that the military lacks sufficient resources to decisively defeat jihadist groups and other armed threats. Speaking before the National Assembly in Abuja on Wednesday as part of his Senate confirmation hearing, Oluyede urged the government to strengthen the country’s police force to relieve pressure on the overstretched military.
“We all know that resources are not enough,” he told lawmakers. “This makes it very difficult to prosecute the war against terrorism and banditry effectively.”
President Bola Tinubu recently nominated Oluyede to succeed General Christopher Musa as the nation’s top military officer. His confirmation and swearing-in are expected on Thursday, following a broad reshuffle of the military’s leadership amid unverified reports of an attempted coup. The government has denied those allegations, insisting that recent arrests of several officers were related to disciplinary matters.
Ongoing Security Challenges
Nigeria continues to grapple with a complex security landscape that includes jihadist insurgencies in the northeast, violent criminal networks in the northwest and central regions, and separatist tensions in the southeast.
The Boko Haram conflict, which began in 2009, has evolved into a prolonged insurgency involving multiple factions, including the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Although large-scale attacks have declined since the conflict’s peak, violence persists in rural areas where security forces and state institutions remain thinly stretched.
A Call to Empower the Police
General Oluyede emphasized that many of the operations currently handled by the military should fall under police jurisdiction. Strengthening and reforming the police, he said, would allow the armed forces to focus more effectively on protecting Nigeria’s borders and addressing external threats.
“Most of the tasks the army is handling today are, in truth, the responsibility of the police,” Oluyede noted. “It is important to empower and restructure the police force so that it becomes stronger and more capable of carrying out its duties.”
Boosting Local Defence Production
The incoming defence chief also advocated for increased local production of military hardware to reduce dependency on foreign suppliers and lower procurement costs. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and its fourth-largest economy, currently sources arms from several countries including the United States, China, Turkey, Brazil, Pakistan, and the Netherlands.
Earlier this year, Nigerian defence manufacturers showcased a growing range of locally produced armoured vehicles and drones at a continental defence summit a sign of the country’s push toward self-sufficiency in military technology.
Rising Drone Threats
During the Senate session, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, Tinubu’s nominee for Chief of Air Staff, addressed concerns over the growing use of drones by non-state actors in Nigeria and across the Sahel. “The enemy you’re fighting went to school,” Aneke said, stressing that insurgent groups can no longer be underestimated as “rag-tag” forces.
New Military Leadership
President Tinubu’s latest reshuffle appointed Major General Waidi Shaibu as Chief of Army Staff and Rear Admiral Idi Abbas as Chief of Naval Staff. Major General Emmanuel Akomaye Parker Undiandeye retained his position as Chief of Defence Intelligence.
As Nigeria faces ongoing security pressures, the new leadership’s call for better resource allocation, domestic arms production, and police reform signals a shift toward a more balanced and sustainable national security strategy.
