NIGERIA IS BLEEDING: CIVIL SOCIETY COALITION SET FOR DEMOCRACY DAY EVE SHOWDOWN OVER BORDER FAILURES, INSECURITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY CRISIS

A coalition of civil society organizations, accountability advocates, youth groups, and concerned Nigerians is set for a major Democracy Day Eve showdown in Abuja on June 11, 2026, over worsening insecurity, porous borders, and growing concerns over accountability within Nigeria’s border management system.

“Our Nation Cannot Be Under Siege While Public Institutions Look the Other Way”, the Coalition Declares

The action, coordinated by Arise O’ Compatriot Initiative (AOCI), will bring together stakeholders from across the country to demand urgent action over the escalating wave of kidnapping, banditry, human trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal migration, and other forms of transnational crime linked to Nigeria’s porous borders.

Speaking ahead of the event, the Public Relations Officer of Arise O’ Compatriot Initiative (AOCI), Comrade Sunday Emeka Okoli Esq., lamented that despite over ₦618 billion allocated to the Nigeria Immigration Service in the 2025 Appropriation Act, including more than ₦400 billion for the E-Border Solution Project, insecurity continues to worsen across the country.

“Nigeria is bleeding. Our people are dying. Communities are under attack. Farmers are abandoning their farmlands. Families are being torn apart by kidnappers and bandits. Our nation cannot continue to remain under siege while Nigerians are left without answers,” he stated.

According to the coalition, persistent border failures have become a major threat to national security and a significant obstacle to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic recovery agenda by discouraging investment, disrupting agriculture, weakening productivity, and undermining public confidence.

The coalition disclosed that the June 11 action will demand an independent probe of the leadership and operational effectiveness of the Nigeria Immigration Service, a forensic audit of border security projects and programmes, public disclosure of implementation outcomes, and accountability for any identified failures.

The group will also call for the immediate resignation of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service or her removal by the appropriate authorities if she is unable to satisfactorily account for the continued failures of Nigeria’s border management architecture despite unprecedented budgetary allocations.

AOCI noted that the action is not about politics or personal attacks but about protecting Nigerians, securing the nation’s borders, and ensuring that public resources committed to border security deliver measurable results.

The coalition has called on civil society organizations, labour groups, professional bodies, youth organizations, development partners, and members of the media to join the national conversation on border security, accountability, and responsible governance.

“When a nation is bleeding from kidnapping, banditry, human trafficking, and cross-border criminality, silence is no longer an option. Democracy demands accountability, and accountability demands action,” Comrade Sunday Emeka Okoli Esq. concluded.