President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has defended his principal’s earlier demand that former President Goodluck Jonathan resign following the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls.
At the time, Tinubu, then an opposition leader, accused Jonathan of failing to secure the country, insisting that the mass kidnapping was sufficient grounds for him to step down. The Chibok abduction, Nigeria’s first major mass school kidnapping, drew global outrage and became a symbol of worsening insecurity.
Appearing on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Bwala described Tinubu’s call as “legitimate,” arguing that Jonathan’s administration was in denial about the incident and lacked solutions. He noted that during Jonathan’s tenure, terrorists controlled communities and even collected taxes.
Defending the current administration’s approach, Bwala said Tinubu has adopted a zero-tolerance policy on negotiations with kidnappers, unlike previous governments that sometimes engaged in talks to save lives.
“There was a time the federal government was negotiating with terrorists… because if citizens are in danger and negotiation is the only way to save them, you have to do all you need to do,” Bwala explained.
He warned that ransom payments indirectly finance terrorism by providing funds for weapons and operations. “President Tinubu came with zero tolerance on negotiation because it didn’t fit into terrorism financing. You are constructively financing terrorism without knowing it,” he said.
Bwala maintained that while past administrations occasionally negotiated to preserve lives, Tinubu’s government is avoiding actions that could empower criminal groups.
Nigeria has recently witnessed a surge in school kidnappings and other security breaches across several states, sparking renewed debate about the effectiveness of government strategies against terrorism and insurgency.
