Retired Commodore Kunle Olawunmi, former Deputy Director of Defence Administration at the Defence Headquarters, has accused the Federal Government of knowing the identities of terrorism sponsors in Nigeria but lacking the political will to prosecute them a failure he warns could push the country toward collapse.
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In an exclusive interview with Daniel Ayanotoye of The PUNCH, Olawunmi, who retired from the Nigerian Navy in 2017 after 35 years of service, argued that deep-seated religious and socio-cultural divisions remain at the core of Nigeria’s worsening insecurity. Reflecting on his 2001 critique of military facilities opening on Fridays for prayers, he lamented that little progress has been made. “If it had changed, I don’t think we would have the situation we have seen recently in Kwara and Benue States,” he said.
He further urged President Bola Tinubu to “round up all the names that have been given to him as terrorist sponsors and try them,” dismissing negotiations with terrorists as both futile and dangerous.
The retired officer described recent public negotiations between northern leaders and armed bandits in Katsina State as “an aberration” and a symptom of a “failed state.” In that incident, militias openly paraded on motorcycles while locals discussed terms in broad daylight. “Are they negotiating on behalf of the Federal Government? If you continue to condone this kind of thing, it’s going to lead to state collapse,” Olawunmi warned, emphasizing that national security rests solely with the President as Commander-in-Chief.
He accused the government of allowing both domestic and foreign sponsors of terrorism to operate freely because of their deep involvement in political financing. “The democracy we run is such that people finance political activities,” he said, noting that aspiring politicians rely on wealthy backers for campaigns. According to him, these same figures, often motivated by religious and economic interests, fund terrorism while influencing appointments in government and the legislature. “How can you now arrest the people that actually helped you to become whatever you are in the political space?” he asked, describing Nigeria’s democracy as a “cash-and-carry” system.
On foreign sponsors, Olawunmi — who once handled foreign liaison at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) — called for the activation of international protocols to trace illicit funds. He criticized the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for failing to scrutinize suspicious financial institutions used for money laundering. “They establish financial institutions and use them to launder money in and out,” he said.
Olawunmi also faulted the rehabilitation and reintegration of repentant Boko Haram fighters, arguing that it misapplies the United Nations’ Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) framework designed for conflicts without clear victors. He contrasted it with the successful handling of Niger Delta militants, who had legitimate grievances over resource control, leading to measures such as the 13% derivation formula. “These are just criminals… You can’t even really call them non-state actors. These are criminals brought in from other countries,” he said of northern insurgents, warning that reintegrating them into the military could turn Nigeria into an “Islamic state” within decades.
Regarding the arraignment of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, Olawunmi described the 2021 operation in Kenya as “badly executed,” comparing it unfavorably to the discreet 2009 capture of Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) leader Henry Okah under President Umaru Yar’Adua. “As a professional, I followed the trend, and I saw that the people who carried out that operation were supposed to be dismissed,” he said, attributing Kanu’s high-profile parade to incompetence and corruption.
On President Tinubu’s recent use of the prerogative of mercy to pardon convicted criminals, including drug offenders, Olawunmi defended the action as a constitutional power, hinting at possible behind-the-scenes international diplomacy. “There may be negotiations going on… ‘Release our prisoners,’ and he released them,” he speculated.
Olawunmi stood firm on his controversial 2022 claim of an Islamisation agenda by Fulani elites, citing interrogations during his combat intelligence days where captured insurgents revealed such intentions. He alleged interference by sympathetic senior officers who facilitated the release of detainees and accused the group of shifting tactics from kinetic violence to legislative maneuvers and back to rural attacks to seize resources for export. “It is both an Islamisation agenda and a way for them to have unlimited access to the raw materials in the country,” he asserted.
Dismissing a recent rumored coup plot as “not real” and emotionally driven, Olawunmi advised against military rule. Drawing from his experience prosecuting coup plotters such as those involved in the 1990 Gideon Orkar attempt, he stressed that coups fail when driven by emotions. “It is better to have this democracy than to have a military coup. People don’t understand military men; don’t let them get into power to govern,” he cautioned, adding that he would have executed corrupt officials if he were in power.
Despite his outspokenness which once led to a “wanted” declaration under former President Muhammadu Buhari, prompting offers of asylum abroad Olawunmi chose to remain in Nigeria. “I am safer in Nigeria than outside,” he said. He denied harboring any grudge over being denied promotion to rear admiral, attributing it to politics rather than merit. “I thank God for how far He has brought me,” he said humbly.
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