By Amofokhai Williams
In a dramatic escalation of the federal government’s response to persistent insecurity, President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday declared a nationwide security emergency and authorised an immediate large-scale recruitment drive into the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police Force.
The President, in a statement, announced that the police would recruit an additional 20,000 officers to bring the short-term total to 50,000 new personnel.
The army has also been directed to open its ranks for fresh intakes, though specific numbers were not disclosed.
To fast-track training, the President authorised the police to repurpose National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camps across the country as temporary training depots, a move that will likely spark debate over the use of facilities originally designed for civilian youth development.
He said officers currently attached to VIP protection duties are to be immediately withdrawn, retrained under a “crash programme,” and redeployed to frontline areas plagued by banditry, terrorism and kidnapping.
In a direct message to the Department of State Services (DSS), President Tinubu ordered the instant deployment of all trained forest guards to “flush out terrorists and bandits lurking in our forests” and gave the agency clearance to recruit additional personnel dedicated to forest and rural security.
“There will be no more hiding places for agents of evil,” he declared.
The President commended recent joint operations that secured the release of 24 schoolgirls abducted in Kebbi State and 38 worshippers kidnapped in Kwara State, while pledging sustained efforts to rescue remaining hostages, including students of a Catholic school in Niger State.
Turning to structural reforms, Tinubu reiterated federal support for state governments that have established regional security outfits such as Amotekun and Ebube Agu, and openly called on the National Assembly to begin reviewing laws that would allow willing states to establish formal state police forces.
On the perennial herder-farmer crisis, he urged herder associations to embrace the newly created Ministry of Livestock Development, end open grazing, surrender illegal firearms and transition to ranching, warning that the federal and state governments are determined to resolve the conflict “once and for all.”
President Tinubu paid tribute to soldiers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, singling out Brigadier-General Musa Uba, and extended condolences to families affected by recent attacks in Kebbi, Borno, Zamfara, Niger, Yobe and Kwara states.
In a stern warning to armed non-state actors, he 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.”
