Akinyemi Demands Military Tribunal With Power to Issue Death Sentences, Urges Tinubu to Suspend Retirement Law and Declare National Emergency
By Dayo Adesulu
Akinyemi Pushes for Military Tribunal as Nigeria Faces Escalating Security Crisis
Nigeria must confront terrorism with the full weight of the law—including capital punishment—if it hopes to reclaim control of its security landscape. This was the central message from former Minister of Foreign Affairs Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, who issued a strongly worded call to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging the establishment of a military tribunal empowered to try terrorists and impose the death penalty where guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Akinyemi’s demand forms the final and most forceful point in a far-reaching security advisory, warning that Nigeria is sliding toward a point where extraordinary measures are no longer optional but necessary for national survival.
A Call for Maximum Penalties Against Terrorists
The former minister argued that Nigeria can no longer tolerate a situation where terror groups operate openly, sometimes even appearing at social events armed and unchallenged. He insists that only a decisive judicial framework—one designed specifically for wartime realities—can deliver justice swiftly and restore deterrence.
He stressed that a military tribunal must carry full legal authority, including the power to pronounce capital punishment on terrorists and collaborators whose actions have contributed to mass killings, abductions, and territorial destabilisation.
According to him, the tribunal should be insulated from political interference and mandated to reach verdicts efficiently while still upholding due process.
Suspend Retirement Laws and Recall Recently Retired Soldiers
Going beyond judicial reforms, Akinyemi urged President Tinubu to immediately suspend the enforcement of the Armed Forces Act provisions mandating the retirement of military personnel after 35 years of service or at age 60.
He described the rule — a colonial vestige inherited from Britain — as impractical in a time of intense national threat.
Citing historic precedents, including the Second World War and Nigeria’s Civil War, Akinyemi argued that previous governments temporarily discarded the policy when survival demanded it. Today’s insecurity, he said, qualifies as another such moment.
He recommended that all officers and soldiers who retired within the last six months be recalled without delay to boost manpower.
Nationwide Recruitment and Full-Scale Military Strengthening
Akinyemi’s proposals also include a sweeping recruitment campaign across the federation. He wants every state adequately garrisoned with trained personnel capable of holding territory, repelling insurgents, and restoring citizens’ confidence in the state’s ability to protect them.
According to him, the country must pursue “boots on the ground” at a scale not currently achievable under existing manpower levels.
Declare a Nationwide State of Emergency, Suspend Governors’ Immunity
In one of his most controversial propositions, the former minister called for a national state of emergency, under which constitutional immunity for state governors would be temporarily lifted.
The rationale, he explained, is accountability. Any governor under whose watch terrorists freely operate should be held responsible. In extreme cases, he said, states may need temporary military administration to stabilise security.
Akinyemi noted that Nigeria’s deteriorating situation shows that conventional governance tools are no longer sufficient.
“Nigeria’s Security Demands Courageous Action”
In closing, the respected diplomat warned that Nigeria cannot continue drifting. Terror groups have grown bold, citizens feel abandoned, and institutions remain overstretched.
He said the nation now stands at an inflection point that demands decisive, coordinated, and courageous action from the Commander-in-Chief.
His proposals — from a military tribunal with death-penalty powers to a mass recall of soldiers and a nationwide emergency declaration — are designed to shock the system back to operational capacity.
As insecurity deepens across multiple states, Akinyemi’s intervention adds to growing national pressure for fundamental reforms.
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