By Yinka Giwa
The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has denied allegations that it armed members of Miyetti Allah for counter-terrorism operations in Kwara State, following a swirl of public outrage and political alarm sparked by the arrest of armed men in the state and their own claims of official backing.
The controversy erupted after a disturbing video surfaced showing armed men apprehended by Nigerian soldiers in Kwara State claiming that ammunition and logistics were supplied to them by government officials. The claims immediately reignited long-standing public suspicions about official complicity in Nigeria’s worsening insecurity and prompted calls for an independent, transparent investigation.
Among the loudest voices raising the alarm was former Anambra State governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who warned that the allegations, if left unexplained, struck at the heart of accountability in a country where trillions of naira have been spent on security with little demonstrable improvement in public safety.
Days later, developments in Kwara appeared to validate the basis of Obi’s concern.
The Kwara State Government confirmed that the armed men recently intercepted by soldiers in Ifelodun Local Government Area, initially believed by the public to be bandits, were in fact members of Miyetti Allah participating in a federal security operation coordinated through the Office of the National Security Adviser.
According to the state government, the men were part of a security arrangement linked to federal operations, a clarification that followed widespread public anxiety after soldiers stopped a security vehicle conveying armed individuals carrying AK-47 rifles. The suspects reportedly claimed they were sponsored by the “Ilorin government,” a statement that fueled anger, confusion, and renewed fears about the true drivers of insecurity in the state.
It was against this backdrop that the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), operating under the ONSA headed by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, issued a formal denial that the Federal Government armed Miyetti Allah or any socio-cultural group.
In a statement signed by the Head of Strategic Communication at the NCTC, Mr. Michael Abu, the Centre described reports alleging the arming of Miyetti Allah as false and misleading, saying they misrepresented ongoing security operations in forested areas of Kwara State.
Abu explained that Nigeria’s counter-terrorism efforts are conducted under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022, and guided by the National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST). These operations, he said, sometimes rely on a hybrid security model that combines regular security forces with trained auxiliaries such as hunters and vigilante elements, particularly in difficult terrains.
The hybrid model, he noted, was previously deployed with the Civilian Joint Task Force in the North-East and is now being applied in parts of the North-West and North-Central, including Kwara, where it has recorded what he described as notable successes against banditry and related crimes.
However, the NCTC stressed that the Federal Government is not conducting kinetic operations with any socio-cultural organisation.
“At no time did the Office of the National Security Adviser provide arms to Miyetti Allah or any similar group,” the statement said, adding that all auxiliary personnel involved in such operations are recruited directly by authorised security and intelligence agencies after due diligence, and operate strictly within established legal frameworks and standard operating procedures.
The Centre urged the media and the public to exercise caution with sensitive security information and to seek clarification through official channels, warning that unverified claims could undermine ongoing operations.
Security analysts, however, say the episode highlights persistent gaps in public communication around hybrid security operations, noting that the absence of timely explanations often allows misinformation and public distrust to flourish.
Concerned observers argue that the Kwara incident reflects a deeper structural problem in Nigeria’s security architecture, where opaque arrangements involving non-state actors blur the line between lawful auxiliary support and unofficial armed mobilisation.
Critics of the government’s security strategy maintain that regardless of official denials, confessions by arrested suspects implicating government officials point to either systemic complicity or a troubling failure of oversight that demands independent scrutiny.
Civil society and governance advocates further warn that Miyetti Allah’s controversial history, despite its status as a registered socio-cultural organisation, makes any perceived association with armed operations particularly combustible in a country already fractured by farmer-herder violence and regional mistrust.
Against this backdrop, analysts say the real issue is not only whether arms were formally issued, but why armed non-state actors continue to operate within security frameworks that are poorly communicated or understood by the public.
The NCTC insists that the government did not arm Miyetti Allah in Kwara. But in a country battered daily by kidnapping, banditry, and terrorism, security experts caution that transparency is no longer optional. When armed men claim government sponsorship, they say, the alarm is not political. It is existential.