The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shuaibu, arrived in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Saturday following President Bola Tinubu’s directive to security agencies to rescue all abducted Nigerians.
Shuaibu arrived at about 11 am at the headquarters of the Northeast Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, at Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri.
His visit comes two days after the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, disclosed that Tinubu had ordered security chiefs to intensify efforts to rescue kidnapped victims and eliminate terrorist and bandit camps across the country.
Musa made this known on October 15 after a security meeting presided over by the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to the minister, Tinubu directed security chiefs to ensure that all abducted persons were rescued, regardless of where they were being held.
“The directive from the President is: all of us must go all out to fish out and rescue all those that have been abducted, kidnapped, wherever they are,” Musa said.
He added that the President had also ordered security agencies to ensure that no terrorist or bandit camp remained anywhere in Nigeria.
Musa further disclosed that Tinubu directed service chiefs and other security officials to provide a safe environment for Nigerians to participate in the elections scheduled for January.
Meanwhile, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, has disclosed that military operations alone cannot end banditry, calling for improved intelligence-sharing, stronger border controls and greater community participation.
Ribadu spoke through the Director of Legal Services in the Office of the National Security Adviser, Zakari Mijinyawa, at a brainstorming session on coping with banditry organised by the Sokoto Advancement Forum in collaboration with the Centre for Peace Studies, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, on Saturday.
He said banditry had expanded beyond cattle rustling, highway robbery and kidnapping to include territorial control, illegal taxation of rural communities and the disruption of economic activities.
According to the NSA, Sokoto’s proximity to Niger Republic and the wider Sahel region has given the crisis a cross-border dimension, allowing armed groups to exploit porous borders and security gaps.
He called for intelligence-led operations, regional cooperation, effective border management and sustained efforts to disrupt the supply of illegal weapons and other logistical support to criminal groups.
Ribadu also stressed the need to address the socioeconomic conditions that expose young people to recruitment by criminal networks.
He said eligible individuals willing to abandon violence could be considered for lawful rehabilitation programmes but warned that such measures must not undermine accountability.
“Reintegration must never replace justice or reward violence,” he said.
The NSA identified five priority areas for improving security in Sokoto including denying armed groups safe havens, strengthening intelligence and early-warning systems, building community trust, protecting agriculture and rural livelihoods, and preventing youth recruitment into criminal networks.
He urged security agencies to improve coordination and information-sharing, noting that communities would be more willing to provide intelligence if they trusted authorities to respond effectively and protect sensitive information.
Ribadu specifically identified Sabon Birni, Isa, Tangaza and Goronyo as areas where early-warning systems should be strengthened to ensure that reports of suspicious movements and emerging threats reached security agencies promptly.
He warned that persistent insecurity was disrupting farming, commerce and children’s education, with wider consequences for food production and the economy.
According to him, security operations should be assessed not only by arrests, weapons recovered or territories cleared, but also by whether displaced residents could return home and resume their livelihoods.
“Success must also mean safer communities, returning families, productive farms, reopened schools, functioning markets and the restoration of public confidence,” he said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Sokoto Advancement Forum, Professor Muhammad Ahmad Wali, disclosed that security incidents had been recorded in 21 of Sokoto State’s 23 local government areas.
Wali added that more than 1,100 people were reportedly kidnapped in the state in the 12 months leading to June 2026.
He described the situation as a threat to residents’ lives and livelihoods, as well as the authority of government, and called for stronger intelligence gathering, effective border control, swift justice, community participation and economic opportunities for young people.
