President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared a nationwide state of emergency and authorised the immediate mass recruitment of personnel into the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police Force.
The announcement was made in a formal Statehouse statement on Wednesday, where the President outlined a sweeping new strategy to combat terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping.
A central pillar of this new plan is a significant bolstering of the nation’s security manpower. The President has ordered the police to recruit an additional 20,000 officers, a move that will bring the total number of new police recruits to 50,000.
To accommodate the urgent and large-scale training required, police authorities have been authorized to utilize various National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camps as temporary training depots. Furthermore, in a major operational shift, police officers previously assigned to VIP guard duties are to be withdrawn, undergo crash retraining programs, and be redeployed to security-challenged areas across the country.
“The times require all hands on deck. As Nigerians, we should all get involved in securing our nation,” President Tinubu stated, framing the situation as a national emergency.
The strategy also targets the vast, ungoverned forests that have become sanctuaries for criminal elements. The Department of State Services (DSS) has been directed to immediately deploy all trained forest guards to “flush out the terrorists and bandits lurking in our forests.” The agency also received a directive to recruit more personnel specifically for forest surveillance, with the President declaring, “There will be no more hiding places for agents of evil.”
While commending the recent successful rescue of 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi and 38 worshippers in Kwara State, the President paid tribute to the nation’s security forces, particularly those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, including Brigadier-General Musa Uba.
He charged the military leadership to remain resolute and uphold the highest standards of discipline, stating, “There must be no compromise, no collusion, and no negligence.”
Looking beyond immediate measures, President Tinubu called for a fundamental review of the nation’s security architecture. He urged the National Assembly to review laws to pave the way for the establishment of state police, a long-debated issue in the country.
He also advised state governments to reconsider the operation of boarding schools in remote, insecure locations and called on places of worship to seek security protection for their gatherings.
Addressing the farmer-herder crisis, the President reiterated that ranching is the official path forward, calling on herders to end open grazing, surrender illegal weapons, and engage with the newly created Ministry of Livestock.
Sympathizing with families who have lost loved ones in recent attacks, President Tinubu concluded with a firm warning to adversaries: “Those who want to test our resolve should never mistake our restraint for weakness.”
He urged all Nigerians to remain calm, vigilant, and to cooperate with security agencies, affirming that “together we shall win.”
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