If Commander-in-Chief Directs Security Architecture To End Boko Haram In 6months, It’ll End—Olawunmi

A former senior Nigerian military officer, retired Commodore Kunle Olawunmi, has claimed that the country’s Armed Forces could eliminate the Boko Haram insurgency in six months if they received explicit instructions from the Commander-in-Chief.

Olawunmi made the statement in a newly released edition of State Affairs with Edmund Obilo, uploaded to the Edmund Obilo Podcast YouTube page on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.

During the interview, the former Commandant of the Defence Intelligence College and former Deputy Director of Defence Administration at Defence Headquarters discussed the role of security agencies in addressing the country’s security problems.

He argued that security personnel should not automatically be blamed for carrying out controversial assignments, noting that officers frequently act on orders issued through their chain of command.

“One thing you people blame security agencies for is that they just obey orders,” Olawunmi stated.

He supported his argument with an example involving the monitoring of his movements. According to him, security operatives tasked with tracking his journey from Lagos could obtain information about his travel arrangements through airline passenger records.

He explained that purchasing an air ticket would place his name on the passenger manifest, making it possible for authorities to identify the aircraft he intended to board.

Olawunmi said this illustrated how security personnel could execute an assignment once it had been authorized by their superiors.

He subsequently turned his attention to Boko Haram, expressing the view that the Nigerian military possessed the operational capability to end the insurgency within six months if the country’s leadership gave the appropriate command.

“The Nigerian military I know, I have the capacity to end the insurgency if they start today. Listen to me very well, if they start today, in six months, they will clear the Boko Haram problem,” he said.

The retired officer reiterated that the success of such an operation would depend on a clear and decisive order from the Commander-in-Chief, supported by the entire security apparatus.

“If the Commander-in-Chief directs the Armed Forces, including all the security architecture, to end Boko Haram in six months, it will end,” he declared.

His remarks underscore his position that strong political direction and coordinated action by Nigeria’s security institutions would be essential to ending the Boko Haram insurgency.

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