Tinubu spokesman Bayo Onanuga clarified why Nigeria's military cannot replicate its swift Benin coup intervention against domestic bandits, attributing the difference to bandits' deep societal integration versus rebels' clear military structure. Unlike Benin's identifiable plotters quickly neutralized via jets and troops Nigerian bandits blend as civilians, complicating kinetic action without mass civilian casualties, unlike conventional foes.
Onanuga stressed bandits' economic enablers like miners and politicians fund arms, rustling, kidnapping; Tinubu's emergency redirects VIP escorts to fields, recruits forest guards, but intel-driven ops limit scale.
Military successes persist Taraba raids destroying camps, neutralizing gunmen, recovering AK-47s but scale pales against Benin's pinpoint strikes. CDS Musa vows 2025 improvements via tech dominance, sustained pressure. Onanuga urged public tips, elite probes to starve banditry.