Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, says insecurity in Nigeria is not as widespread as many reports suggest.
Onanuga spoke during an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday.
‘The country is not under siege’
The presidential spokesman said some media reports exaggerate security challenges.
According to him, the reports create the impression that the entire country is unsafe.
“Don’t let people frighten you that the entire country is under siege,” he said.
“It is not.”
However, Onanuga acknowledged that security breaches still occur across the country.
Cites interstate travel
Furthermore, Onanuga said many Nigerians continue to travel long distances by road.
He cited his personal travels and those of other public officials.
“I travel from Lagos to Oyo to attend events,” he said.
He also said the executive secretary of NELFUND recently drove from Abuja to Kebbi by road.
Blames night travel
Meanwhile, Onanuga linked some attacks to night travel.
He said security agencies have repeatedly advised Nigerians against travelling after dark.
“Anytime I read about a kidnap or attack, I check the time,” he said.
“Sometimes it happened at 8pm, 9pm or even 1am.”
“A long time ago, the police told people to stop travelling at night.”
Defends government data
In addition, Onanuga defended the federal government’s security statistics.
His comments followed questions about data from Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited and ACLED, which showed rising terror-related fatalities between 2015 and 2025.
According to him, the presidency relies on figures supplied by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
“The data we operate on is the data provided by the Office of National Security Adviser,” he said.
“You cannot say the data is wrong and only this one is right.”
He added that independent organisations could also make mistakes in their assessments.
“They may be wrong,” Onanuga said.
