Abuja, Nigeria – Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has declared a “nationwide security emergency” and ordered immediate, significant expansion of the country’s armed forces and police, in a major statement addressing the worsening security crisis. The move comes amid a wave of kidnappings, banditry, and terrorist attacks, particularly in the northern states, which have seen schools, places of worship, and remote communities repeatedly targeted. In the declaration released on Wednesday, President Tinubu authorised the recruitment of 50,000 additional personnel into the police force, including an immediate intake of 20,000 new officers. The army was also instructed to recruit more personnel.
Shift on State Police and Security Outfits
Perhaps the most significant element of the declaration is the President’s explicit call for legislative review on the controversial issue of state-controlled police forces.”I call on the National Assembly to begin reviewing our laws to allow states that require state police to establish them,” the statement read. This marks a pivotal moment, as the decentralisation of policing has long been a contentious topic in Nigeria, with previous federal administrations resisting the creation of state police over concerns about potential abuse by state governors. Furthermore, the President pledged to support “state governments which have set up security outfits” to protect their citizens, lending crucial federal backing to regional forces that have emerged in response to the security vacuum.
Recruitment and Deployment Changes
To facilitate the mass recruitment, police authorities have been authorised to use various National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camps as training depots. In a move aimed at bolstering frontline security, the President also ordered that police officers currently assigned to VIP guard duties be withdrawn, undergo “crash training,” and be redeployed to “security-challenged areas.”The Department of State Services (DSS) has been directed to immediately deploy its already-trained forest guards to “flush out the terrorists and bandits lurking in our forests” and to recruit more personnel specifically for manning these areas.🐄
Addressing Herder-Farmer Clashes
President Tinubu also addressed the persistent deadly clashes between nomadic herders and farmers, which have ravaged the Middle Belt and other regions. He called on herder associations to immediately end open grazing and surrender illegal weapons, endorsing ranching as the “path forward for sustainable livestock farming and national harmony.”
The statement concluded with a commendation for the security agencies for the recent rescue of schoolgirls in Kebbi and worshippers in Kwara state, but acknowledged that other hostages, including students from the Catholic School in Niger State, remain in captivity.
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