The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North-West), Abdulillahi Yakassai, has said President Bola Tinubu is deeply affected by the worsening security situation in the country, insisting that the challenge has placed a heavy emotional and administrative burden on the presidency.
Yakassai made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he spoke on ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to address insecurity across different regions of the country.
According to him, the frequency of security meetings at the Presidential Villa reflects the seriousness of the crisis and the President’s personal concern.
“The security situation in some parts of the country has really been subdued, but there are some elements of new tactics coming up, like the one we see in Kwara State—very unfortunate,” Yakassai said.
“Even the President is having sleepless nights because every week you see him having a security council meeting in the Presidential Villa to see how to address this insecurity.”
His comments come amid renewed public concern over persistent attacks across the country, with critics questioning the effectiveness of current security strategies under the administration.
In response, the presidential aide defended the government’s handling of the situation, arguing that the nature of the threat has evolved and become more difficult to combat due to what he described as guerrilla-style tactics used by armed groups.
“It’s very hard to tackle. We have come from a long-time crisis, and it has been happening, and you can’t just blame this government for it,” he said.
“You wouldn’t know where they come from, and I’m telling you there is a hand in this kind of insecurity issue. We cannot just say it is a coordinated insecurity situation.”
“There are some elements that are against this government that are instigating this kind of insecurity situation just to give the new government a bad name,” he added.
Yakassai also pointed to what he described as improvements in some previously volatile areas, citing reduced incidents along the Abuja–Kaduna corridor and in parts of Zamfara State.
According to him, “Some places where we know there was massive insecurity, like between Abuja and Kaduna, have really subsided. Now we don’t see that insecurity challenge in those areas, and in Zamfara State you hardly hear these days about that insecurity.
“But they have changed tactics just because it’s guerrilla warfare, just like I said, and now they have moved away from those areas to Niger State, Kwara State, and immediately Mr President appointed the IG of Police, his first point of call was to go to Kwara State and as far as Kaiama, where those things are happening.”
He maintained that while progress has been made in some areas, more coordinated efforts are still needed to fully address the crisis.
“But we know a lot needs to be done to curb this insecurity, and I believe with time, by God’s grace, if all hands are put on deck, it will continue to come down till we get to eliminate the insecurity situation,” he added.
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