Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, presidential hopeful of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says he will establish a terrorism court and reform intelligence coordination among security agencies if elected in 2027.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Hayatu-Deen said Nigeria’s
security and economic crises are interconnected, noting that insecurity has
worsened poverty, food inflation and unemployment across the country.
“When farmers cannot reach their fields, food prices rise.
When traders cannot move goods, the cost of living rises. When young men cannot
find work, criminal networks find recruits. Insecurity fuels poverty. Poverty
fuels insecurity. To break the cycle, Nigeria must restore the authority of the
state,” he said.
Hayatu-Deen said if elected president, he will start
implementing his security plans on the first day in office, including
designating violent groups as terrorist organisations.
“The Nigerian state must stop treating organised mass
violence as ordinary crime,” he said.
The economist said he will prosecute every bandit,
kidnapper, and collaborator under terrorism laws, with “accelerated procedures
through designated terrorism courts”.
“Terrorism charges carry life imprisonment. The days of
light sentences, quiet releases, and cases disappearing into endless judicial
backlog are over,” Hayatu-Deen said.
The former managing director of the defunct FSB
International Bank said he will dismantle the financial networks that keep
terrorism alive by directing the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to identify, freeze, and seize the assets
of financiers, ransom collectors, arms suppliers, and money launderers.
“A joint financial intelligence and telecom surveillance
task force will track ransom flows, criminal communications, and interstate
kidnapping networks using modern technology and real-time intelligence sharing.
You cannot aim to kill the foot soldiers while leaving the treasury intact,” he
said.
Hayatu-Deen said he will end “federal complicity in ransom
payments and negotiated amnesties” and ensure that no federal funds go to
proscribed groups.
“Where state governments seek federal security cooperation,
that cooperation will be conditioned on compliance with this policy. The
Federal Government will not legitimise criminal violence by rewarding it with
public funds or political concessions,” he said.
The politician pledged to rebuild the multi-national joint
task force (MNJTF), restore regional security cooperation and reform
intelligence coordination across relevant agencies.
“Military, police, DSS, immigration, customs, and financial
intelligence must stop operating in silos. Nigeria does not only need more
force. Nigeria needs better intelligence, better shared, and faster acted
upon,” he said.
Hayatu-Deen said he will strengthen policing capacity
nationwide, equip them with modern technology and rapid-response systems, and
ensure tighter coordination between federal and local security structures.
“The military cannot permanently police every community in
Nigeria. That is not a sustainable security architecture, and we will end it,”
the politician said.
The presidential aspirant promised to launch targeted
economic recovery programmes in high-risk regions, with deliberate focus on
young people vulnerable to recruitment by criminal and extremist networks.
“Enforcement alone will not hold. Lasting security requires
both the rod and the opportunity. These are not long-term aspirations or
second-term promises. They are immediate actions,” he said.
Hayatu-Deen added that Nigerians deserve a government that
can defend them.
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