Presidential spokesperson Daniel Bwala says the lives of Nigerians have been safer since President Bola Tinubu assumed office, claiming that America has higher crime rates than Nigeria.

Mr Bwala said this in an interview with Channel TV on Sunday evening, when asked if Nigerians are safer since Mr Tinubu assumed office over two years ago.

“Nigerians are superlatively safer today than they were,” said Mr Bwala. “You know, before 2023, there were prison breaks everywhere in Nigeria—even here in Abuja. You couldn’t come out; in broad daylight, they would come and kidnap people—before President Bola Tinubu came on board.”

According to the presidential aide, there have not been records of prison breaks since Mr Tinubu became Nigeria’s president, unlike when “you saw everyday killings across the country.”

Mr Bwala said, “If you look at the crime record now, the crimes that are committed in America in one day are more than the ones committed in Nigeria,” citing the assassination of Conservative activist Charlie Kirk in America and the terrorist attack on Manchester Synagogue.

Mr Bwala’s claim that Nigeria is better and safer comes a few months after armed herders raided Yelewata in the Guma local government area, killing hundreds. 

In May, a human rights organisation, Amnesty International, reported that bandits in various coordinated attacks have killed at least 10,217 people since Mr Tinubu assumed office.