The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) and over 75 civil society organisations (CSOs) under the umbrella of the Coalition of National Civil Society Organisations (CNCSOs) have called for an immediate and comprehensive probe of the tenure of the sacked service chiefs.
The coalition, which commended President Bola Tinubu for his bold decision to sack the service chiefs, alleged that their years in office were marked not only by persistent insecurity but also by opaque defence expenditures and poor accountability in military operations.
In a joint statement signed by Comrade James Ezema, Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the CNPP and Alhaji Ali Abacha, National Secretary of the CNCSOs, the coalition stated that the persistence of insecurity across Nigeria’s land and territorial waters throughout the tenure of the former service chiefs was undeniable evidence of incompetence, poor coordination, and policy failure.
The statement read in part: “From the forests of Zamfara to the highways of Abuja–Kaduna, the creeks of the Niger Delta to the shores of the Gulf of Guinea, insecurity flourished under their watch. Kidnapping, banditry, insurgency and piracy became daily realities for Nigerians.
Entire communities were displaced, farmlands abandoned, and ancestral lands seized by non-state actors. Their removal was not just necessary, it was inevitable. “The Nigerian people deserve to know how trillions of naira budgeted for defence and internal security was spent while insecurity worsened.
We call on President Tinubu to immediately constitute an independent panel to investigate the activities, procurements, and command decisions of the former service chiefs to determine whether negligence, corruption, or complicity contributed to the sustained insecurity that ravaged the country under their leadership. “There can be no meaningful reform without accountability.
Those who failed the nation must explain why Nigerians remained unsafe in their homes, highways, and waterways despite huge investments in the defence sector.” While acknowledging that the decision to remove the service chiefs came later than it should have, the CNPP and CNCSOs applauded President Tinubu for finally acting in the national interest and urged their successors to “hit the ground running” with fresh energy, new strategies, and measurable results.
“The President’s action rekindles hope that the government is now ready to match political will with decisive leadership in the war against insecurity. Nigerians, however, will not celebrate mere appointments; they expect swift, visible improvements in safety across the country,” the coalition stated.
While urging the newly-appointed service chiefs to learn from their predecessors’ failures, the CNPP and CNCSOs also called for a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s internal security system, with special emphasis on restoring the central role of the Nigeria Police Force in domestic security management.
“The police must not continue to exist merely as a protest control unit, while the military performs internal security functions that should constitutionally belong to the police. A weak police force translates into weak internal security. The time has come for President Tinubu to empower, reform, and reposition the police as the lead agency in maintaining law and order,” the coalition emphasised.
The groups further advocated the institutionalization of community policing through necessary constitutional and Police Act amendments, ensuring that security becomes people-driven and rooted in grassroots intelligence gathering.
“Community policing is not just desirable; it is essential. Security must begin from the people, not from the barracks. The government must bring policing closer to the citizens to build trust, cooperation, and resilience against crime,” the groups noted.
Reaffirming their commitment to supporting genuine government efforts to restore peace, the CNPP and CNCSOs stressed that Nigerians have endured too much pain to continue tolerating excuses or mediocrity in the security sector.
“President Tinubu has taken the right step by sacking those who failed to deliver. The next step is to probe their stewardship, rebuild the police, and empower the new security leadership to restore peace, unity, and confidence in the Nigerian state,” they noted.
