President Bola Tinubu on Thursday convened a high-level security meeting with the nation’s military commanders, intelligence chiefs and senior security advisers at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in a renewed effort to strengthen the country’s response to growing security challenges.
The closed-door meeting, which lasted for more than two hours, brought together the country’s top security leadership for a comprehensive assessment of ongoing military operations and the security situation across various theatres of operation nationwide.
According to officials familiar with the meeting, the session focused on reviewing the effectiveness of current security strategies, assessing emerging threats and strengthening coordination among the armed forces and intelligence agencies as troops sustain intensified offensives against terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements.
In attendance were the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye; Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; Director-General of the Department of State Services, Adeola Ajayi; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed; and the President’s Special Adviser on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (retd.), alongside other senior security officials.
The meeting followed recent military successes in the North-West, where troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA, supported by the Nigerian Air Force, foiled what the military described as a major terrorist offensive in Zamfara and Katsina states.
During the July 7 operation, Nigerian Air Force aircraft tracked and struck a convoy of about 300 heavily armed terrorists riding motorcycles as they moved from the Sunke-Kumbo axis towards Gummi, inflicting significant losses on the criminal group.
Security forces also eliminated Alhaji Tukur, identified as a notorious bandit commander and younger brother of wanted kingpin Alhaji Shehu Bagiwaye, during an operation in Dogon Kade.
In the North-East, troops of Operation Hadin Kai recently repelled another attack on the Mairari military base after renewed assaults by suspected ISWAP fighters on military formations in Borno State.
Security analysts say the attacks are part of attempts by insurgents to weaken the operational capacity of troops in the region.
Military records indicate that at least 13 attacks on military bases have been recorded in 2026, with most occurring in Borno State.
As of the time of filing this report, the Presidency had not issued an official statement outlining the resolutions reached at Thursday’s security meeting.
However, at a similar meeting held in March, Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar had assured Nigerians that security forces were recording significant successes against terrorists and bandits, stating that many criminal commanders had been eliminated and expressing confidence that the armed forces would ultimately prevail.
