By Paul Joseph
Human rights activist and African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has said he would appoint a drone as Nigeria’s minister of defence if elected president.
Sowore made the remark during a live interview on Arise Television on Thursday while discussing his plans to tackle insecurity across the country.
“If I become Nigeria’s president tomorrow, my minister of defence will be a drone. That’s how much I believe in technology,” he said.
The AAC flagbearer argued that Nigeria’s security crisis requires a major technological transformation, insisting that the country needs advanced equipment, technology-driven strategies and honest leadership within the military hierarchy.
According to him, many military commanders have abandoned their core responsibilities by remaining in Abuja instead of actively leading operations against insurgents and bandits.
“We have to have honest leaders and supervisors and officers who are not staying in Abuja fighting over land but actually fighting wars, generals who can strategise and do what is right,” Sowore stated.
He also criticised the Nigerian police, saying the force should focus on maintaining internal security rather than being used to escort politicians or arrest individuals over social media comments.
“A police force that can carry out internal security of the country, not escorting people or arresting people for insulting others on Facebook,” he added.
Sowore further explained that his proposed security structure would rely heavily on drones and artificial intelligence to track and eliminate terrorist threats.
“I’m just going to have a control centre where people sit down and track terrorists and liquidate them,” he said.
When asked whether artificial intelligence could also play a key role in such a system, the activist agreed, saying: “That’s part of it. And that drone will fly everywhere.”
Despite his strong emphasis on technology, Sowore noted that military solutions alone would not permanently solve insecurity in Nigeria.
He stressed that unemployment, poverty and lack of education continue to push many young people toward violence and militancy.
“Ultimately, you must create a society where people can find jobs and go to school, and not be willing to take up arms,” he said.
This is not the first time Sowore has floated the idea. He made a similar statement in January 2026 during an interview on Channels Television, where he first proposed the concept of a drone-led defence strategy.
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