Security sources have said institutional rivalry between the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA and the military was responsible for the viral bandits’ video footage that has caused tension in the state.
Recall that some youths, branded as bandits, were arrested due to the poor coordination between both security agencies.
Sources, who linked the arrested youths to activities coordinated by the Kwara State government, said the situation degenerated because of what they described as a petty institutional rivalry, This allegedly prompted the officers involved to rush the matter to the media, rather than conduct a thorough internal probe. According to the sources, this haste resulted in the filming and public circulation of the video, instead of discreet verification of facts.
Their intervention followed the spread of a viral clip showing soldiers interrogating a group of suspected bandits allegedly found patrolling with AK-47 rifles in a local security vehicle bearing the inscription of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
In the footage, the suspects were seen lying face down with their hands tied as soldiers questioned them about their movements and the source of the weapons reportedly recovered from them.
However, the source insisted that the individuals were locals engaged to provide intelligence to ONSA from grassroots communities, stressing that they were not arrested in Kwara State but in Edo State.
Drawing parallels with international precedents, the source recalled how institutional rivalry between security agencies in the United States contributed to intelligence failures, ahead of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as documented in The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda’s Road to 9/11, a Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Lawrence Wright.
According to the source, the lesson from that experience was the danger of fragmented security architecture driven by ego and competition, rather than cooperation.
They argued that similar dynamics appear to be playing out in Nigeria’s security sector, particularly between ONSA and the military, with the recent uproar over the arrest of individuals in Auchi, Edo State, in possession of a Hilux vehicle belonging to Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State cited as a prime example.
In the brief video that circulated online, the suspects allegedly identified specific individuals who supplied them with weapons from Abuja. The source claimed that names mentioned, including Tinja and Victor, are senior officials within ONSA, suggesting that the arrested persons were not bandits but vigilantes operating under the coordination of the NSA’s office.
The situation, the source said, raises troubling questions about interagency communication and national security management.
They queried why the Army allegedly failed to verify the claims by engaging ONSA before allowing the video to leak, and what objective was served by publicising the footage in the first place. They also questioned the broader implications of such rivalry on counterterrorism cooperation, intelligence sharing, and public confidence in security institutions.
The source further wondered why it was taking so long for either agency to clearly state whether the individuals arrested were bandits or vigilantes, noting that the delay had already caused reputational damage to Kwara State and heightened public anxiety.
Emphasising the strategic importance of both ONSA and the military within Nigeria’s security framework, the stakeholder stressed that effective collaboration between the agencies was essential to safeguarding national stability.
In a separate response, the Kwara State Government clarified that the Nigerian Army did not arrest any armed bandits in Ifelodun Local Government Area, describing reports suggesting otherwise as disinformation circulating on social media.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Communications, Bolanle Olukoju, the government said it had carefully reviewed the viral video in which the suspects claimed to have received a vehicle from the “Ilorin Government” and weapons from Abuja.
While noting that investigations into the incident were ongoing, the state government stressed that the suspects were not arrested in Kwara State and that no security agency had reported any such operation within the state. According to the statement, the arrest reportedly took place in Auchi, Edo State.
The government further clarified that no state government has the authority to arm individuals with AK-47 rifles and that the suspects did not claim that the Kwara State Government supplied them with weapons.
It explained that the Ifelodun Local Government Authority had earlier provided a security van to vigilantes deployed in the area to support existing security arrangements, adding that the vigilantes had since left Ifelodun.
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