President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced a national security emergency, unveiling the most extensive security recruitment drive in recent years as part of a sweeping response to escalating insecurity across the country.
Under the new directive, the Nigeria Police Force will recruit an additional 20,000 officers, increasing the ongoing national recruitment to 50,000 personnel. To fast-track training, NYSC camps will now serve as auxiliary police training centres, while officers earlier withdrawn from VIP protection duties are being reassigned for rapid counter-terror and high-risk deployment training.
The President also empowered the Department of State Services (DSS) to immediately deploy its trained forest-combat units and accelerate recruitment of additional forest guards tasked with flushing out terrorists and bandits entrenched in the nation’s forests.
Tinubu commended security operatives for the successful rescue of abducted victims in Kebbi and Kwara States, reaffirming that the safe return of all remaining hostages — including the students kidnapped in Niger State — remains a top national priority.
The President urged the National Assembly to commence legislative reviews that would allow states willing to establish state policing to do so. He further cautioned state governments against operating boarding schools in unsecured, remote locations, and advised religious institutions in vulnerable regions to maintain regular security presence.
On the longstanding farmer-herder crisis, Tinubu appealed to herder groups to embrace ranching, discontinue open grazing, and surrender illegal arms. He emphasized that the newly created Livestock Ministry will drive sustainable solutions to the conflict.
The President extended condolences to families affected by the recent wave of attacks across the northern states and paid tribute to fallen soldiers, including Brigadier-General Musa Uba.
Warning that government restraint must not be misinterpreted as weakness, Tinubu pledged that his administration possesses the resolve and courage to secure Nigeria, urging citizens to remain calm, vigilant, and cooperative with security agencies.
“We are in this fight together,” he declared, “and together we shall win.”