President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared a nationwide security emergency, unveiling sweeping measures that include the largest police and military recruitment drive in recent years.

The declaration came a day after LEADERSHIP advised the president, in an editorial published in its  Tuesday, November 25 edition, to declare an emergency on insecurity, with the title, ‘Declare Emergency On Insecurity Now.’

The move  also comes as Nigeria grapples with a resurgence of violent attacks across several states.

In a national statement released on Wednesday, the President said the scale and intensity of recent security breaches demand an urgent, coordinated response, adding that “the times require all hands on deck.”

LEADERSHIP EDITORIAL: Declare Emergency On Insecurity Now

Under the new directive, the Nigeria Police Force has been authorised to recruit an additional 20,000 officers, raising its ongoing recruitment drive to 50,000 personnel.

The Nigerian Army has also received approval for expanded enlistment to reinforce troops across various theatres of operation.

To speed up the process, President Tinubu permitted the police to use National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camps as temporary training depots, in addition to the training facilities he previously approved for nationwide upgrade.

He also ordered all police officers recently withdrawn from VIP guard duties to undergo crash reorientation courses ahead of deployment to vulnerable communities and high-risk environments.

The President further directed the Department of State Services (DSS) to immediately deploy all trained forest guards to flush out terrorists and bandits hiding in forests across the country.

The agency was also authorised to recruit additional personnel specifically for forest security operations.

“This is a national emergency, and we are responding by deploying more boots on the ground, especially in security-challenged areas,” Tinubu said. “There will be no more hiding places for agents of evil.”

The President commended security agencies for their coordinated efforts, particularly the rescue of the 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi State and 38 worshippers abducted in Kwara State.

He assured that operations are ongoing to secure the freedom of students still held hostage in Niger State and others in captivity elsewhere.

To further strengthen national security, Tinubu called on the National Assembly to begin reviewing the legal framework that would allow states interested in establishing state police to do so.

He also urged governors to reconsider the operation of remote boarding schools without adequate protection and advised places of worship in vulnerable areas to seek constant security support.

The President emphasised that his administration will support states that had created local security outfits to protect their citizens, noting that the newly established Livestock Ministry remains central to resolving long-standing herder–farmer conflicts.

He urged herders to embrace ranching, end open grazing and surrender illegal firearms.

Tinubu extended condolences to families who lost loved ones in recent attacks in Kebbi, Borno, Zamfara, Niger, Yobe and Kwara states, and paid tribute to fallen security personnel, including Brigadier-General Musa Uba, who died in the line of duty.

Reassuring Nigerians of the government’s resolve, the President said: “Those who want to test our resolve should never mistake our restraint for weakness. This administration has the courage and determination to keep the country safe.”

He urged citizens to remain calm, vigilant and to cooperate with security agencies, saying Nigeria will overcome its current challenges through unity and shared responsibility.

“Let us stand together in purpose and strength to defend our freedom and values. Together we shall win,”

the president added.

Insecurity: Allow Responsible Citizens To Own Guns, Senators Tell Executive

… Bandits fed us with three square meals daily – Victim

Nigerian senators have called on the executive to review the country’s firearm laws to enable responsible citizens to own guns, citing the escalating insecurity across Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger states.

This followed a motion entitled, “Urgent need to address escalating insecurity in Kwara, Kebbi and Niger States,” which highlighted recent attacks on schools, worship centres, and rural communities.

The motion, sponsored by Deputy Senate Leader Senator Lola Ashiru (APC, Kwara South), pointed to the November 18 attack on Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area, Kwara State, where two worshippers were killed and 38 others abducted.

The senators urged immediate federal action to curb the rising wave of banditry, kidnappings, and violent crimes, warning that mass school abductions and persistent raids have forced closures of schools, including all 47 unity schools nationwide, disrupting the education of thousands of children.

They, however, commended President Bola Tinubu for cancelling foreign trips to coordinate security responses, which led to the release of 38 abductees in Kwara and 51 students in Niger State.

The Senate also called on communities in the affected states and across Nigeria to remain vigilant, united, and supportive of security agencies while resisting internal collaborators who undermine national safety.

The senators emphasised that Nigeria’s firearm laws should reflect current security challenges, similar to over 175 countries where responsible citizens are permitted to own guns legally.

Our children are healthy, says father of 4 daughters kidnapped in Kebbi school.

The father of four daughters among the 24 schoolgirls kidnapped in Kebbi State, Malam Iliyasu Garba Birnin Tudu, has disclosed that his daughters are healthy medically.

According to him, in his interaction with the rescued schoolgirls, they revealed that the bandits did not harass them.

Speaking on behalf of the parents of Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Danko Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, Garba, whose children were kidnapped and later rescued, Birnin Tudu commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his efforts.

He also thanked Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State, security agencies, and Minister of State for Defence, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, for their proactive measures and speed in rescuing the schoolgirls.

“We have engaged in conversation with our daughters, and they have revealed to us that they were not touched or abused by the bandits, and they are healthy medically now,” he said.

The visibly elated Birnin Tudu thanked the state government, the Kebbi people, religious clerics, and Nigerians for their concern and prayers throughout the incident.

Speaking to journalists shortly after they were handed over to their parents, Aisha Suleiman, an SS II student, disclosed that she could not imagine meeting her parents so soon after the horrible experience, but thanked God for making it a reality.

One of the freed girls, Sakina Suleiman, a JSS III student, expressed her happiness at her release, along with her mates.

“We were not humiliated by our abductors. They fed us with three square meals daily and joked with us, but did not abuse us,” said Zainab Umar Kolo, another SS III student.

Also, Hauwau Lawal of SS II revealed that she was happy to see her parents again after thinking that she would no longer meet with them after being abducted from the school.

The Kebbi State Governor, Dr Nasir Idris, urged the 24 freed schoolgirls not to relent in the pursuit of their education.

Idris told the schoolgirls as he handed them over at the Government House in Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday: “I urge you to see this incident as a challenge and a part of life, and you should not relent in pursuit of education,” he said.

“No society can prosper and progress without sound and proper education. This applies to human beings; no individual can prosper and progress without education. The incident should not deter you,” he added.

Idris also assured the parents that the government would do everything possible to assist the children in sustaining their education.

Earlier, the State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr Halima Bande, had revealed that none of the children was abused or molested while in captivity with the bandits.

“After we received them from the Theatre Commander of Operation Fasin Yamma, we took them to the hospital for medical examination and possible treatment, and after undergoing the medical checkup, none of them was found ill or abused, and they are medically fit to unite with their parents,” she said.