***Establish Military Tribunals With Death Penalty for Terrorists
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take sweeping and unprecedented measures to arrest Nigeria’s deepening insecurity, including a nationwide state of emergency, the suspension of constitutional immunity for governors, and the establishment of military tribunals empowered to impose the death penalty on terrorists.
In a detailed statement on Tuesday, Akinyemi — an Oxford-trained scholar and respected voice in national security discourse — warned that Nigeria has reached a dangerous “tipping point” where conventional responses are no longer sufficient.
According to him, terrorists, bandits, and armed criminal groups have grown bolder, deadlier, and more coordinated, overwhelming large swathes of the country and exposing the limits of the country’s security architecture.
Akinyemi urged President Tinubu to immediately suspend the retirement provisions in the Armed Forces Act 2004, which stipulate that military personnel must retire after 35 years of service or upon reaching the age of 60.
He described these provisions as ill-suited for a country facing existential threats, insisting they were inherited from Britain and designed for peacetime, not national crisis.
To strengthen military capacity, he recommended the recall of all officers and soldiers who retired within the past six months, alongside an emergency nationwide recruitment exercise to rapidly expand the size and readiness of the armed forces. Citing historical precedents, he noted that similar measures were implemented during World War II and the Nigerian Civil War, when strict retirement rules were suspended to keep experienced personnel in service.
“Nigeria urgently needs a strengthened military presence to confront escalating insecurity and safeguard our sovereignty,” he said. “We cannot afford to be constrained by outdated rules when the very existence of the state is under threat.”
The former minister then advanced one of his most controversial proposals: the declaration of a nationwide state of emergency that would temporarily strip state governors of constitutional immunity. According to him, the gravity of the current crisis demands that every governor be fully accountable for the security situation in their state, without the shield of immunity. Under the proposed emergency framework, severely troubled states could even be placed under temporary military administration to restore order.
Akinyemi also called for the establishment of special military tribunals to try terrorists and their sponsors. These tribunals, he argued, would fast-track terrorism cases and deliver timely justice. He insisted that where guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubt, the death penalty should be applied, stressing that Nigeria must send a strong deterrent signal to extremist groups that currently operate with impunity.
“Nigeria must not tolerate a situation in which members of terrorist organizations freely appear at social gatherings armed and unchallenged,” he said. “We must act decisively, courageously, and in unison.”
Akinyemi’s sweeping proposals — if adopted — would dramatically reshape Nigeria’s security architecture, civil governance, and constitutional order. They are likely to spark intense debate over fundamental rights, federalism, and the limits of executive power during crises.
The presidency has yet to comment on the recommendations.