The Presiding Bishop of Sword of the Spirit Ministries, Francis Wale-Oke, has urged President Bola Tinubu to take decisive action by rooting out what he described as “moles and fifth columnists” within Nigeria’s security architecture to effectively confront the country’s deepening insecurity.
Wale-Oke, speaking on Sunday while hosting journalists at an end-of-year luncheon at the Covenant Cathedral on Parliament Road, Ibadan, warned that insecurity has overtaken corruption as the most feared and destabilising challenge facing Nigerians.
He commended the Tinubu administration for recent steps aimed at strengthening security operations, including leadership changes within the armed forces, but insisted that the president must push reforms to their “logical conclusion” and spare no one in the pursuit of justice.
“For a long time, people said corruption was Nigeria’s number one problem,” the cleric said. “Corruption remains critical, but insecurity has suddenly surpassed it. Where there is insecurity, there can be no free movement, no business, no safety at home or in public. Everything is affected.”
The bishop argued that Nigeria’s security institutions require a comprehensive overhaul, stressing that the presence of internal collaborators continues to undermine counterinsurgency efforts and cost the lives of soldiers and intelligence officers.
“Our security apparatus has been infested with moles and fifth columnists planted by people who benefit from chaos,” he said. “Our gallant officers are dying needlessly because these elements have not been flushed out.”
Wale-Oke also criticised the previous administration’s policy of reintegrating so-called repentant bandits into the military and security system, describing it as “playing with fire.”
“There is nothing like repentant terrorists in governance,” he said. “Governance is not church. When people kidnap, rape, kill and destroy lives, they must face the full weight of the law. Reintegrating such people only weakens the system from within.”
Calling on President Tinubu to “put his feet down,” the cleric urged the government to abandon what he described as leniency towards terrorists, bandits and insurgents operating under various guises, including Boko Haram and Lakurawa.
“The work of governance is to ensure justice grinds heavily against those making life hell for Nigerians,” he said, while urging authorities to protect the lives of security personnel by eliminating internal sabotage.
Wale-Oke welcomed Nigeria’s reported cooperation with the United States in tackling banditry and terrorism, saying international collaboration does not amount to a surrender of sovereignty but reflects realism in confronting a protracted crisis.
“If we have fought insecurity for over 15 years and it keeps getting worse, then clearly we need help,” he said. “When criminals realise that Nigerian and American forces are working together, many of them will retreat.”
Beyond security, the bishop called on politicians to prioritise good governance and fight corruption sincerely, warning against turning anti-corruption agencies into tools for political persecution.
He also appealed to Islamic leaders, including the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, to openly denounce crimes such as kidnapping, banditry and terrorism being committed in the name of Islam, which he described as a religion of peace.
In a message of hope, Wale-Oke urged Nigerians not to despair, quoting Job 14:7: “For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, it will sprout again.” He called on citizens across faiths and regions to unite against violence and insecurity threatening the nation’s future.
