Political strategist and Group Chief Executive Officer of Global Investment and Trade Company, Baba Yusuf has warned that very soon bandits will be in the Nigerian Senate and the House of Reps.

Speaking on Arise News, Yusuf said Nigerians were now paying bandits taxes and going to them for mediation in the North.

He also mentioned that while Nigerians are dying in their numbers in attacks from bandits, politicians are playing politics with insecurities in the country, while the terrorists are daring the state and taunting Nigeria.

The security expert noted that these terrorists are killing soldiers, wearing the military uniform, and going for mediation with the government, then going home without consequences and even sending notices to the government.

He said, “We are there already. And why did I say so? First of all, I mentioned that performance is not measured by events, but by impacts and outcomes.

“If we look at the progression of insecurity in Nigeria in the past three and a half years, places that we never thought they would go to, they are in Niger, they are in Kwara progressing downwards into Nigeria.

“You see what they are doing. They come at will in Benue, in Plateau. Mr. President promised the widows, I mean the victims, in Plateau two weeks ago, ‘it will never happen again,’ these people had the audacity to make it happen again the next day.

“They are daring the state. They are taunting us. When they kill our soldiers, they wear the uniform of our military and armed forces and go to what is called a mediation arrangement with the government.

“This bandit wore the uniform of the Assistant Commissioner and came with his gun and went home without consequences. They are on social media. We know their handles. They don’t even care to cover their faces.

“They send notices, and they come on the day of the notice, and they execute. Now they are overrunning brigades, not brigades in urban areas, brigades in the theater of war, and they overrun the brigade. They kill our generals, like every other day, our colonels.

“The ruling party makes it look as if it’s no issue, and then the opposition uses it to posture while people are dying every day. This is an existential issue that we should take seriously across party lines. And we should deal with this otherwise, like I said earlier, it will still come down, you see, I said it in another sister station very soon, bandits will be in the Senate and the House of Reps, because Nigerians are paying them tax in the north.

“People are beginning to have confidence in them. They go to them for mediation. They go to them for protection. And we are saying we are making progress, and we are saying we should not talk about it.”

A prominent political strategist, Baba Yusuf, has raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s growing insecurity.

He warned that the situation could deteriorate to the point where bandits begin to infiltrate key national institutions, including the National Assembly.

Yusuf spoke on Saturday during an interview on Arise News. He described the current security crisis as deeply troubling.

According to him, the influence of bandits is expanding beyond rural communities and could soon threaten the country’s political structure.

He said many communities affected by banditry no longer rely on the government for protection. Instead, residents now turn to criminal groups for safety and conflict resolution. In some areas, locals reportedly pay taxes to these groups in exchange for protection.

“Very soon bandits will be in the Senate and the House of Reps, because Nigerians are paying them tax in the north. People are beginning to have confidence in them,” he warned.

Yusuf explained that this shift in loyalty shows a dangerous loss of trust in state authority. He noted that when citizens begin to see criminals as protectors, it weakens the legitimacy of the government.

He also pointed out that bandits are no longer limited to a few regions. Their activities, he said, are spreading into states like Niger and Kwara. At the same time, attacks in Benue and Plateau have become more frequent and deadly.

According to him, these groups now operate with boldness. He claimed they attack military personnel, wear security uniforms, and even engage in negotiations without facing consequences. This, he said, shows a failure in the country’s security response.

Yusuf criticised the government’s approach to tackling the crisis. He argued that the response has been slow and often filled with political statements instead of real action. He called for urgent and sincere measures to address the threat before it worsens.

He described the situation as an existential danger to Nigeria. In his view, if left unchecked, it could erode governance and destabilise the country further.