Insecurity worsened during Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency because the administration ignored escalating threats from insurgents, bandits and kidnappers while corrupt officials secretly funded the very criminals terrorising the country, former Department of State Security Services Director Dennis Amachree has said.
Amachree made the claims in his new book, “DSS@40: My Journey Behind the Shield,” where he also accused senior government functionaries of paying ransom to kidnappers — a practice he said effectively subsidised terrorism and kidnapping across Nigeria.
“The period of the Muhammadu Buhari administration is viewed as a critical time when security threats metastasized, and government indifference became palpable,” Amachree wrote. Despite Buhari’s background as a former military general, he said, the administration did “little or nothing” about the mounting threats, reinforcing perceptions of a clueless leadership disconnected from democratic governance.
Amachree pointed to Buhari’s description of Nigerian youths as “lazy” during foreign trips as a moment that deepened public anger, coming as unemployment soared and further alienating citizens who felt abandoned by their government.
Beyond corruption among top officials, Amachree detailed how the government secretly paid billions of naira in ransom to bandits — payments later denied by officials but exposed when bandit leaders such as Bello Turji spoke publicly about them. He said the denials, once debunked, destroyed public trust and confirmed the state was directly financing the threats it claimed to be fighting.
The former security chief also turned his focus on Nigeria’s political class, arguing that the country’s core security problem is not ethnic conflict but a struggle between the ruling elite and ordinary citizens.
“The true impediment to peace and stability is the political class, which refuses to allow citizens to pursue their daily lives in a stable environment,” Amachree wrote.
He added that as economic warnings mounted and security worsened, politicians acted with “reckless abandon,” prioritising personal gain over national stability — behaviour he described as the ultimate threat to Nigeria’s social cohesion.
READ ALSO:
- LESOTHO MUSIC AWARDS (LMA) AND AFRIMA ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP TO ADVANCE LESOTHO’S MUSIC INDUSTRY
- Shaibu Appoints GOCs for Four New Army Divisions Approved by Tinubu
- Makinde Names Adeniran APM Presidential Campaign Coordinator in Oyo
- Canada-based prophetess apologises to husband after celebrating mother-in-law’s death online
- Many feared dead as illegal miners clash in Birnin Gwari, BEPU demands probe
