Tinubu Tightens Security Strategy, Demands Results From Service Chiefs
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has unveiled a tougher security push, charging service chiefs and intelligence agencies to deliver clear, measurable gains against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes across the country. The directive came during a high-level meeting at the State House in Abuja, where recent attacks and abductions in states such as Kwara, Niger, Kebbi, Plateau, Borno, and Benue were reviewed in detail.
According to briefings following the meeting, the session was intense but constructive, with the President insisting that the era of endless reports without concrete progress must come to an end. Security chiefs left the meeting with renewed mandates to coordinate better, share intelligence faster, and reassure citizens through visible improvements in safety, especially as the festive season approaches. Full read:Exclusive Opinion: Navigating Nigeria’s Security Challenges in 2025
New Directives And Emergency Measures
Tinubu’s latest orders build on the broader security emergency he declared in November, which introduced sweeping changes to how Nigeria confronts insecurity. Central to this new push is a rapid expansion of security manpower and a more aggressive posture against criminal groups operating in rural communities, highways, and forests.
Key measures already on the table include:
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Large-scale recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force, with plans to raise new personnel numbers by tens of thousands and upgrade training infrastructure nationwide.
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Use of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camps as temporary police training centres to fast-track deployment to underserved communities.
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Withdrawal of many police officers from VIP escort duties so they can be retrained and redeployed to areas with high levels of kidnapping, banditry, and communal clashes.
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Support for states running their own security outfits and a push for legal changes that would allow interested states to establish state police formations.
These steps aim to close security gaps at the grassroots level, where citizens often feel abandoned and outnumbered by armed groups.
What This Means For Nigerians
For many Nigerians, the biggest question is whether these directives will translate into real change on the ground, not just new headlines. The presidency has signalled that security agencies will now be measured by outcomes such as reduced attack frequency, faster response times, and safer travel corridors, rather than simply the number of meetings held or operations announced.
Communities in hotspots such as the North-East, North-Central, and parts of the North-West are expected to feel the impact of increased deployments and closer collaboration among the military, police, and intelligence agencies. With the President publicly stressing that “enough is enough” regarding recurring violence, expectations are high that Abuja will back these directives with funding, oversight, and sustained political will.
