By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
The International Peace and Development Initiative (IPDI) and its global partners have asserted that the integrity of Nigeria’s national security is compromised when specific ethnic interests are prioritized over a unified, professional, and neutral security apparatus.
The Assembly therefore warned that Nigeria stands at a precipice, where the traditional protections of the state are being supplanted by unregulated paramilitary arrangements that threaten to exacerbate existing communal fissures.
The warning was contained in a definitive communiqué issued by IPDI at the end of a landmark strategic summit held on December 20, 2025, addressing the deteriorating stability of the Nigerian Federation.
The assembly, presided over by Dr. Chris Gankon, who is based in the USA, warns that the transition of the Nigerian state into the year 2026 is marked by an unprecedented convergence of asymmetric security threats, a protracted humanitarian emergency, and a critical reassessment of the national security architecture.
The IPDI therefore convened a high-level virtual conference as a strategic engagement titled “The Future of Nigeria,” demanding judicial probe into Nigerian security architecture amid escalating humanitarian crisis.
The conference, which featured extensive testimony from humanitarian experts and frontline advocates, highlighted the disproportionate impact of violence on Christian communities across the Middle Belt.
Dr. Mike Arnold, a humanitarian with over sixteen missions to the region, presented evidence suggesting that while official figures place internally displaced persons (IDPs) at approximately 4 million, the realistic scale of displacement, accounting for unregistered individuals within host communities, may be as high as 12 million.
This Communiqué outlined five critical action points for national and international implementation including a National IDP Census, immediate implementation of a comprehensive, biometric-supported census of all displaced persons to unlock stalled international humanitarian support and ensure equitable aid distribution.
Government authorities are also urged to conduct a comprehensive IDP census, ensure safe return or resettlement of displaced persons, and provide compensation, education, and rehabilitation for affected communities.
Judicial Review of Security Directives through an independent audit of the recruitment protocols for the Nigerian Forest Guard initiative to ensure multi-ethnic representation and strict adherence to the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act.
“We formally call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to urgently investigate allegations regarding the arming or deployment of Fulani individuals as forest guards, reportedly linked to security arrangements under the oversight of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” IPDI stated.
Given the sensitivity of Nigeria’s security landscape, the conference emphasized that any such actions—if proven—must be subjected to transparent legislative and judicial scrutiny to prevent ethnic profiling, deepen trust, and avert further national polarization.
Equitable self-protection rights, legal reforms to ensure that all communities, particularly those systematically targeted by non-state actors, possess the right to organized, community-based protection under the law.
The conference affirmed that all Nigerian communities must enjoy equal protection under the law and calls for a clear, lawful framework that prevents selective vigilante arrangements while safeguarding citizens’ right to security.
International Counter-Terrorism Audit, a collaborative investigation with global partners, including the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group, to identify and sanction the domestic and international financiers of terror networks in the Sahel.
Beyond rhetorical condemnation or the mere identification of suspected actors, the conference emphasized that enduring national security cannot be achieved without decisive legal consequences.
Accordingly, the assembly called for the immediate arrest, thorough investigation, and diligent prosecution of all individuals, networks, and institutional actors found to be sponsoring, financing, facilitating, or sympathizing with Fulani militia operations and allied terror structures.
It declared that, Justice must not only be declared; it must be seen to be enforced through transparent judicial processes that cut across status, ethnicity, and influence.”
Leadership Recalibration, The promotion of the “Issachar Leadership Model”—characterized by strategic foresight and a commitment to the common good—within all levels of governance and civil society.
IPDI stressed that, “We believe that national recovery requires moral leadership, institutional reform, civic responsibility, and unity across ethnic, religious, and regional lines. The Church and other religious and civil society groups are urged to complement prayer with measurable advocacy, reform, and strategic engagement.”
It called on religious institutions, political leaders, and traditional authorities to demonstrate courage, accountability, and unity, rejecting silence, compromise, and fragmentation in the face of national crisis.
In conclusion, IPDI stressed that, “We reaffirm that Nigeria remains a nation of immense potential and strategic importance, but warn that continued inaction, denial, or selective justice risks long-term instability.”
IPDI also declared that the survival of the Nigerian state depends on the restoration of trust between the government and its citizens.
It called on global community to transition from a policy of “passive observation” to one of “active accountability” in order to prevent a total humanitarian collapse in the most populous nation of Africa.
The conference, conducted via a global digital platform, brought together a distinguished assembly of diplomats, security analysts, ecclesiastical leaders, and humanitarian advocates to deliberate on the systemic failures of state protection and the escalating persecution of vulnerable communities, particularly in the Middle Belt and Northern regions.
Participants expressed grave concern over the worsening security situation across multiple regions of Nigeria, marked by terrorism, banditry, communal violence, and mass displacement. Special attention was drawn to the disproportionate impact of violence on Christian communities and other vulnerable populations.
Central to the deliberations was the emergence of non-traditional security measures, most notably the Presidential Forest Guards Initiative coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
While the federal government posits the forces as a necessary mechanism to reclaim ungoverned spaces, the assembly noted with profound concern the allegations of ethno-religious bias in the recruitment and arming of these units.
This communiqué reflected the collective views and resolutions of participants and is issued in the spirit of constructive national dialogue and global accountability.
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