Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, has said Nigeria’s decade-long security crisis cannot be separated from the destabilisation that followed the 2011 uprisings in Libya and Egypt, stressing that the violence ravaging several regions of the country is driven by ideology and economics – not religion.
In a detailed strategic statement issued on Thursday, Akume outlined the evolution of Boko Haram, ISWAP and North-West banditry, the regional and economic forces sustaining insecurity, and the Federal Government’s official position on recent claims of “Christian genocide”.
Akume said the collapse of the Libyan state after the 2011 uprising unleashed a flood of weapons into the Sahel, empowering extremist groups across West Africa. He added that instability in Egypt created further ideological corridors for radical groups.
“The insecurity faced today is inseparable from the destabilisation that followed the 2011 Libya and Egypt uprisings,” he said, linking the rise of Boko Haram and later ISWAP to the movement of arms and foreign fighters through Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)-controlled routes.
Tracing the insurgency from its origins, the SGF noted that what began as a local extremist sect in 2002 soon morphed into a global terror franchise inspired first by Al-Qaeda and later ISIS.
He highlighted major turning points, including: The group’s radicalisation after Mohammed Yusuf’s death in 2009; Shekau’s reign of violence from 2010 to 2014; The 2014 Chibok schoolgirls abduction; The 2015 allegiance to ISIS, and the 2016 ISWAP restructuring that sidelined Shekau.
Akume said the insurgency’s trajectory mirrors the shift from Al-Qaeda’s influence in the Sahel to ISIS’s organisational and financial structures.
The SGF rejected attempts to frame banditry as a religious war. He insisted that the violence in the North-West is driven by economic factors — not faith. According to him, the root causes include: Competition for shrinking grazing lands; Cattle-rustling tied to cross-border markets; Illegal gold mining in Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina and Benue.
Others are: Kidnapping-for-ransom; Extortion and illegal taxation of rural communities, and Struggles for control of fertile land and trade corridors.
“These pressures, not religion, explain the persistence of violence in the North-West,” he stated.
Akume reiterated that no credible international body has classified Nigeria’s crisis as genocide against Christians. He warned that such claims inflame tensions and undermine national cohesion.
“Boko Haram and ISWAP attack both churches and mosques. Bandits target communities without religious distinction,” he said, stressing that Christians, Muslims and traditionalists have all suffered.
He described the genocide narrative as a dangerous misinformation campaign capable of emboldening extremists and causing diplomatic rifts.
The SGF praised the Nigerian Armed Forces as “highly capable, experienced and professional”, noting that they have reclaimed territories and degraded insurgent networks. According to him, Nigeria requires support in intelligence, technology and equipment — not deployment of foreign troops.
The SGF warned that recent comments from the United States have unintentionally encouraged extremist groups seeking global attention.
Outlining the Federal Government’s roadmap, Akume said Nigeria will intensify security operations, expand intelligence-sharing, crack down on illegal mining and trafficking, and strengthen border governance.
He emphasised Nigeria’s commitment to its partnership with the United States, describing both nations as leading democracies with a shared responsibility to confront extremist threats in Africa.
As the statement concluded, Akume appealed to Nigerians to unite against a common enemy. “Now is the time to speak with one strong and united voice to confront terrorists, bandits and extremists, and eradicate them from our borders”, he stressed.
