Buhari Regretted Unresolved Insecurity — Gambari
Last update: February 3, 2026
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'Buhari was pained by persistent banditry and insecurity in the North-West and North-Central.'
A former Chief of Staff to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Gambari, has revealed that the late Nigerian leader was deeply troubled by his inability to fully resolve the country’s insecurity challenges before leaving office.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television, Gambari said Buhari often expressed regret that, despite significant efforts, insecurity persisted in parts of the country, particularly in the North-West and North-Central regions.
According to Gambari, while Buhari made progress in weakening the Boko Haram insurgency and reclaiming territories previously held by the group, the continued menace of banditry and violent attacks remained a major source of pain for him.
“One of the things that pained him the most was that he was unable to do more about the security situation in the country before he left,” Gambari said.
“He did a lot by making sure that no territory of Nigeria was under Boko Haram,” he added.
Gambari explained that the former president frequently reflected on the lingering insecurity in other regions, noting that it weighed heavily on his conscience.
“The situation in the North-West, in the North-Central, even in banditry, it pained him a lot. And he felt, ‘I’ve done everything I can for these people.’ He even said at some point that maybe the base was not good enough,” he said.
CBI News reports that the former Chief of Staff also addressed reports of alleged coup rumours towards the end of Buhari’s administration, following claims by the Minister of Defence that such threats existed before the inauguration of President Bola Tinubu.
Gambari said he was not aware of any intelligence about coup plots being brought to Buhari’s attention through his office.
“Honestly, I’m not aware of that. The president had many sources of information. The Chief of Staff is probably a principal one, but not the only one. He could have received information that I was not privy to,” he stated.
