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A U.S.–based Nigerian security expert, Dr. John Egbo, has warned that Nigeria is rapidly losing ground to violent criminals and urged the Federal Government to demonstrate real political will in tackling the worsening insecurity across the country.
Egbo, a retired U.S. Deputy Sheriff and security consultant, said in Enugu that Nigerians have grown weary of endless assurances while mass abductions and killings persist nationwide.
He insisted that the government must shift “from rhetoric to action”, as citizens now doubt its resolve to protect them.
Egbo criticised the deployment of large numbers of police and military personnel as escorts for politicians, advising that such security assets be reassigned to communities under attack by bandits, militants and kidnappers.
He also called for stronger local security structures, including vigilantes and Forest Guards, especially as attacks typically escalate during the Christmas season.
According to him, frontline personnel remain ill-equipped despite huge defence spending, lacking basics like patrol vehicles, communication systems, bulletproof gear and modern surveillance tools such as drones.
Egbo renewed public calls for the creation of state police to improve grassroots response times and push a more layered policing model.
He further urged transparency in defence spending, tougher border control and the removal of political interference from security operations.
“Security must not remain a privilege for the powerful but a fundamental right for every Nigerian,” he said.
Egbo described fear as now a permanent part of daily life, citing highways such as Abuja–Kaduna, Enugu–Abuja, Benin–Lagos and Birnin Gwari–Funtua as kidnapping hotspots. He added that southern states once viewed as safe — including Edo, Delta, Imo and Anambra now suffer near-daily attacks.
“The message from the public is clear insecurity is a national emergency. Leaders can no longer pretend otherwise,” he warned.
