President Bola Tinubu has directed security agencies to rescue all abducted persons and ensure that no terrorist or bandit camp remains anywhere in Nigeria.
The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, disclosed this on Thursday after a security meeting presided over by the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Musa said Tinubu also directed service chiefs and other security agency heads to ensure a safe environment for Nigerians to participate in the elections scheduled for January 2027.
The meeting was convened to review the country’s security situation ahead of the polls, with heads of security agencies in attendance.
“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.
“There shouldn’t be any camp of any terrorists or bandits anywhere in Nigeria,” Musa said.
The minister said Tinubu wanted a free, fair and credible election and assured political parties that security agencies would remain neutral.
“Mr President made it very clear he wants a free, fair and credible election. We must do everything possible to ensure that the country is safe and secure for the citizens to go out and vote.
“We are going to ensure that we give everybody the opportunity to go and serve, so they have nothing to worry about, nothing to be afraid of, and nobody is going to intimidate them for whatever reasons,” he said.
Musa added that “it’s important for all other political parties to understand that the security forces are going to be neutral.”
Tinubu plans deployment of forest guards
Sources familiar with Thursday’s meeting said the President also ordered the deployment of forest guards to territories recovered from terrorists and bandits to prevent the insurgents from returning.
One senior official explained that military operations often involved clearing areas of insurgents before troops moved on, leaving some locations vulnerable to reoccupation.
“The President has directed that we deploy forest guards to hold the grounds that the military has taken. The military does not hold ground. They simply clear the place and move.
“When the military clears the place, these insurgents, they run. And once we take it, we can’t stay there, so they come back.
“The plan now is to deploy forest guards to hold some of these territories,” the official said.
The source did not disclose the number of guards to be deployed, the states that would benefit or the timeline for the operation.
The Presidential Forest Guards Initiative, coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser, was launched in May 2025. It followed consultations with state governors, who were asked to recruit between 2,000 and 5,000 guards each.
In December 2025, Tinubu directed the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to begin the immediate training, arming and deployment of additional forest guards nationwide.
More than 7,000 guards graduated after three months of training in December 2025 and were deployed to seven states: Borno, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa, Niger, Kwara and Kebbi.
Ribadu described the guards as a “force multiplier” tasked with identifying security hotspots in forests.
The programme was subsequently expanded to 10 states, with more than 2,000 additional guards reportedly trained in Kaduna, Edo and Kogi, bringing the total number to about 9,000.
Following the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State in May 2026, the Nigerian Government also announced plans to recruit an additional 1,000 forest guards for the state.
Security agencies to receive new aircraft
Musa said the government was strengthening the capacity of security agencies through recruitment, training and equipment procurement.
He disclosed that Tinubu would soon inaugurate about 10 newly acquired aircraft and helicopters.
“Mr President is coming to commission a set of new aircraft and helicopters that have been bought.
“I think almost about 10 of them in number, and to show Nigerians that despite the economic issue, the issue of security is on the front burner of Mr President’s view,” he said.
The minister also highlighted a recent salary increase for military personnel and said improvements for the police, other security agencies and pensioners were being addressed.
“Nobody is going to be left behind,” he added.
On August 4, Tinubu approved salary increases of between 30 and 80 per cent for about 250,000 armed forces personnel, effective September 1. The annual salary bill rose from N660 billion to N924 billion.
In October 2025, the Defence Ministry said Italian defence company Leonardo was building 24 aircraft for Nigeria, including 10 AW109 Trekker helicopters and M-346 fighter jets, for delivery in four batches.
Government considers stronger protection for power facilities
Sources also said the security meeting discussed plans to designate electricity infrastructure as a critical national asset following repeated cases of vandalism.
One official said the designation would enable the government to take appropriate action to protect power facilities.
“Because of the problems of vandalism of power facilities, we are already working to designate it as a critical national asset. It was brought up at the meeting to be designated.
“It has to be designated before we can now take appropriate action on it,” the official said.
In June 2024, Tinubu signed the Critical National Information Infrastructure Order, which covered power generation and distribution among 13 sectors and assigned the National Security Adviser a role in protecting them.
In October 2024, vandalism of the Shiroro–Kaduna transmission line plunged about 17 northern states into darkness.
Tinubu had condemned the sabotage and ordered security protection for repair crews.
Government reviews Ebola threat
The meeting also considered the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, with one source saying the President had directed officials to assess whether additional measures or restrictions were needed to protect Nigerians.
“We looked into this Ebola crisis. We have to look at it because it’s rising. Beyond what we’re doing now, the President said we have to look at it and see whatever restrictions we might need to make to safeguard Nigerians. We cannot afford to fold our arms,” the official said.
The source did not disclose specific measures under consideration.
The outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain was first reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo on May 15, 2026. The World Health Organisation subsequently declared a public health emergency of international concern.
According to figures cited in the report, the Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 9,066 confirmed cases and 4,381 deaths.
Kenya confirmed an imported fatal case on October 6, while the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said Nigeria had no confirmed case as of that date.
Security chiefs attend meeting
The meeting was attended by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Gaidam; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; and Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Adeyinka Famadewa.
Others present included Chief of Army Staff, Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Naval Staff, Idi Abbas; Chief of Air Staff, Sunday Aneke; Chief of Defence Intelligence, Emmanuel Undiandeye; Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed; and Director-General of the Department of State Services, Adeola Ajayi.
Musa urged Nigerians to support security agencies and report misconduct by their personnel.
“Security is everybody’s responsibility. It’s not only for members of security forces. Everyone has a role to play.
“Whatever you see that is going wrong, even with our members that are not doing what is right, please don’t hesitate to report. Action will be taken,” he said.
The meeting comes ahead of Nigeria’s January 2027 general elections, with the presidential poll scheduled for January 16.