Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has clarified why security operatives cannot directly attack bandits terrorising Northern Nigeria.
During an interview on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme monitored by DAILY POST, Onanuga explained that although security agencies know the areas where the bandits operate, they cannot move in beforehand because the criminals live among civilians. Any rushed operation, he said, could result in severe collateral damage.
His explanation follows a fresh wave of attacks, including the kidnapping of 38 worshippers at a Christ Apostolic Church in Kwara State—victims who were later rescued, according to President Tinubu.
In another incident, over 200 schoolchildren were abducted from a Catholic private school in Niger State, though about 50 managed to escape and reunite with their families.
Onanuga stressed that the military must avoid civilian harm at all costs. He recalled a past incident in Borno where the military, acting on faulty intelligence, mistakenly hit civilians while targeting terrorists.
According to him, “Security personnel must act carefully. In trying to target these bandits, they must ensure they do not harm innocent Nigerians.”