Hours after rampaging bandits slaughtered 18 Nigerian soldiers and another 48 citizens in Niger and Zamfara States respectively, President Bola Tinubu boasted that he is doing well.

Mr Tinubu, during his official visit to Nasarawa State on Wednesday, lauded the state governor, Abdullahi Sule, for doing well—adding that he, too, is performing excellently as president.

“I could see hard work coming from AA Sule. Determined to use Nasarawa State resources for the benefit and stability of Nasarawa State. Sule is doing well because Bola Tinubu is doing well too,” Mr Tinubu said.

Mr Tinubu’s remarks come less than 24 hours after bandits, in separate attacks, killed 26 soldiers and 48 citizens in Niger and Zamfara on Tuesday.

A security source told Peoples Gazette that no fewer than 26 soldiers were killed when rampaging bandits raided a military base in Mariga LGA of Niger State. However, the Nigerian Army claimed that 17 soldiers were killed in the attacks.

Similarly, no fewer than 48 security operatives were reportedly killed by rampaging bandits led by the notorious Bello Turji, following an ambush near Shinkafi LGA in Zamfara State.

In the past two years under Mr Tinubu’s watch, according to Amnesty International, over 10,000 people have been killed in different coordinated attacks by bandits and Boko Haram terrorists.

About two weeks ago, gunmen raided Yelewata in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, killing around 200 people.

Yet, Mr Tinubu continues to boast of “doing well” as leader of the most populous African country—one increasingly ravaged by insecurity and economic hardship under his administration.

Mr Tinubu’s twin policies of fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification have led to a significant increase in fuel prices, from N145 to over N1,000 per litre and later dropping to about N900, while the naira collapsed from N700 to over N1,600 to the dollar.

With inflation at 23.7 per cent—a drop from 34 per cent after rebasing the economy—Nigeria under Mr Tinubu recorded the largest increase in acute food insecurity globally in 2024, according to the 2025 Global Report on Food Crises, published by the Global Network Against Food Crises in collaboration with the Food Security Information Network and UNICEF.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that poverty and food insecurity remain high under Mr Tinubu, while the World Bank’s Africa Pulse report (April 2025) also stated that Nigeria has the highest number of extremely poor people globally, warning that more Nigerians may be plunged into poverty by 2027.