A former deputy director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has told President Bola Tinubu to put political campaigns on hold and focus entirely on fixing Nigeria's security problems.

Speaking on Channels Television's Sunday Politics, Amachree said the responsibility starts with the President as Commander-in-Chief. He acknowledged the political pressures Tinubu faces but argued that security must come before electoral ambitions.

"Sometimes I feel sorry for the President because he's dealing with many variables. As he takes one step, he's also careful about his political party and supporters, and trying not to step on certain toes. But if he wants to return as President, just as Jonathan did, he should stop the political campaigns and face the security problem frontally. Solve it first. If we need help from outside, get it. Then we can return to campaigning. If we're campaigning while people are being attacked, I don't think citizens will even come out to vote."

Amachree also criticised how long it takes to pass security-related laws. He noted that the National Assembly can pass bills within a week when it wants to, but crucial security reforms drag on for months. He pointed to the recent passage of the state police bill as an example — something that should've been done much earlier.

The call comes as public anger over insecurity grows. Just days ago, dozens of people — including schoolchildren and teachers — were abducted in Oyo State. The Nigeria Union of Teachers declared an indefinite strike in affected public schools. Protests broke out.

Also on the programme, security expert and lawyer Bulama Bukarti described the death of retired Major General Rabe Abubakar in bandit captivity as a shocking sign of how bad things have become. Abubakar, a former spokesperson for the Nigerian Army, was kidnapped on a public highway in Katsina State's Matazu Local Government Area, not in some remote forest. He was held for about two weeks before being killed.

"If a retired military general and former spokesperson of the Nigerian Army could be abducted, held for about two weeks and eventually killed, it tells us that no Nigerian is safe. Rank and institutional history count for nothing in the insecurity situation we've found ourselves in."

Bukarti said the bandits even paraded the general on television and social media, openly negotiating with the government for a prisoner swap. He described their audacity as unprecedented.

According to Bukarti, the goal of these terrorist groups is to instil fear and break public trust in the government. He noted that insecurity, once mostly a problem in the North-East, has now spread to the North-West, North-Central, and South-West. "Nigeria's security threat is now a national problem rather than a regional one," he said.

The Katsina State government later confirmed Abubakar's death. The Nigerian military has pledged justice, with a delegation visiting Katsina to mourn the slain general.