The party accused security agencies of failing to protect citizens while acting with unusual efficiency when “elite power or foreign approval is at stake.”
The African Action Congress (AAC) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of “criminal negligence,” alleging that while Nigerians are dying daily from insecurity, the government suddenly demonstrated military precision in launching airstrikes against fleeing coup plotters in the Republic of Benin.
In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Rex Elanu, the AAC said the cross-border action exposes the “true character of the Nigerian state,” arguing that the same government that claims it lacks intelligence and capacity to defeat terrorists at home managed to execute swift and targeted strikes abroad.
The party accused security agencies of failing to protect citizens while acting with unusual efficiency when “elite power or foreign approval is at stake.”
The AAC described the military operation in Benin Republic as confirmation that Nigeria does not lack security capability but lacks commitment to protect the lives of its own people.
According to the party, the contrast between domestic insecurity failures and external military aggression is “structural,” reflecting a state that applies power only to defend regime interests rather than protect citizens.
The AAC further condemned what it called “foreign-backed regional destabilization,” declaring support for the people of Benin Republic and opposing both military coups and external intervention.
It also called for mass mobilization, insisting that “Nigeria belongs to its people,” and urging citizens to organize, resist, and reclaim national sovereignty.
The statement reads in part: “Nigerians are dying daily under a criminally negligent government, yet the Bola Ahmed Tinubu regime somehow finds the time, coordination, and military precision to launch airstrikes on fleeing coup plotters in the Republic of Benin. This grotesque contradiction captures, in stark relief, the true character of the present Nigerian state.
"Across the country—north, south, east, and west—terrorists, kidnappers, bandits, and state-tolerated criminal networks abduct and butcher citizens with near-total impunity.
“Nigerians are taken from highways, farms, classrooms, churches, mosques, and even their homes, while families are left to grieve and bury their dead. For years, the government has excused this catastrophe by claiming it lacks intelligence, equipment, resources, or capacity.
"Yet at the very moment Nigerians are told security is impossible within our borders, the same state suddenly demonstrates flawless intelligence, seamless coordination, and lethal efficiency outside them.
“The bombing of alleged coup plotters in Benin Republic exposes an uncomfortable truth: the Nigerian government does not lack capacity—it lacks commitment to the lives of its own people.”
The party said “to many Nigerians, this sudden competence appears less a matter of national security and more an exercise in serving the personal political interests of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the geopolitical priorities of France”.
When elite power or foreign approval is at stake, the state becomes swift and merciless,” it said.
“When ordinary Nigerians are under siege, the same state collapses into excuses, paralysis, and deliberate inaction—sometimes even pardoning, rehabilitating, or reintegrating those responsible for terror into public systems."
He argued that Nigeria has become a country where the authorities claim they cannot identify or apprehend terrorists operating within its borders, yet are able to carry out cross-border military operations when it benefits those in power.
According to him, this contrast reflects a structural problem, one in which the government selectively deploys its strength to protect regime interests rather than citizens.
He maintained that such governance lacks moral authority, noting that any state that safeguards power while neglecting its people cannot claim legitimacy, especially when it acts decisively for foreign interests but appears unwilling to confront insecurity at home.
Expressing solidarity with the people of the Republic of Benin, he said the AAC condemns illegal military actions and all forms of military rule.
The party, he added, remains committed to democratic and revolutionary ideals and urges citizens across the region to resist foreign interference, authoritarianism, and collaboration among compromised leaders.
"For Nigerians, the conclusion is unavoidable: the country will not be rescued by a leadership that has repeatedly proven it does not serve the people. Only organized resistance, civic courage, and revolutionary commitment can reclaim Nigeria from criminal negligence and political betrayal,” the statement said.
"Nigeria belongs to its people. The time has come to organize, resist, and take it back.”