Fix Insecurity at Home Before Demanding UN Security Council Seat, ADC Tells Tinubu

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s push for Nigeria to secure a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, saying the government should first tackle the deepening insecurity ravaging the country.

In a strongly worded statement, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said it was “absurd” for the administration to seek expanded global influence while failing to protect its citizens from daily bloodshed.

“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,” Abdullahi said.

Rising death tolls in Zamfara and Katsina

The opposition party cited recent attacks in Zamfara and Katsina States, including the massacre of worshippers inside a mosque in Yandoto village, Zamfara. Dozens were killed and abducted in the assault.

The ADC noted that at least 140 people had been murdered in the two states over the past two months, while Amnesty International estimates that more than 10,000 Nigerians have been killed nationwide by armed groups since May 2025.

“These are not numbers. They were human beings. They were Nigerians that this administration had promised renewed hope,” the ADC said.

Extortion and control by armed gangs

The party also raised alarm over reports that criminal gangs in Zamfara extorted more than ₦56 million from farmers in exchange for access to their own farmlands.

“This is the reality under Tinubu’s watch,” Abdullahi added. “A government that cannot guarantee the safety of its people has no business demanding greater responsibility on the world stage.”

The remarks come as President Tinubu continues lobbying for Nigeria to be granted a permanent Security Council seat, a long-standing ambition of successive governments. But with violence surging across northern Nigeria, the ADC insists the administration must “fix home first before chasing global prestige.”