Daniel Bwala, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on policy communications, has alleged that foreign interests are contributing to Nigeria’s security crisis.

Speaking on The Link Up Podcast, produced by EchoRoom, Bwala outlined what he described as key factors behind the country’s security challenges, pointing first to terrorism in neighboring Sahel states, which he said has spilled across the border into Nigerian communities before militants retreat back out of the country.

He also suggested that some non governmental organizations that arrived in Borno State for humanitarian work when Boko Haram first emerged had rented properties for periods of ten to fifteen years, questioning what kind of long term planning would justify such arrangements. He said the military has on multiple occasions arrested Boko Haram members alongside foreign nationals, describing this as one of several factors complicating efforts to end the crisis.

Bwala said the military has withheld the nationalities of foreign suspects arrested alongside Boko Haram members for security reasons.