BY MUSA IDRIS UMAR, NOVEMBER 26, 2025 | 08:40 PM

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared a nationwide security emergency, announcing sweeping measures to combat rising insurgency and banditry.

In a decisive address to the nation on Wednesday, the President ordered the immediate recruitment of additional personnel into the Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force.

Citing the 'emerging security situation,' President Tinubu authorized the police to recruit an additional 20,000 officers, raising the total ongoing recruitment target to 50,000.

To fast-track this process, police authorities have been granted permission to utilize National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camps across the country as training depots.

The president also directed that police officers currently assigned to VIP guard duties be withdrawn immediately.

These officers will undergo crash training programs before being redeployed to security-challenged areas to provide 'more efficient police services.'

'My fellow Nigerians, this is a national emergency, and we are responding by deploying more boots on the ground,' the president stated.

Addressing the issue of bandits using forests as safe havens, President Tinubu empowered the Department of State Services (DSS) to immediately deploy trained forest guards to 'flush out terrorists and bandits lurking in our forests.'

The agency was also directed to recruit more personnel specifically to man these forest areas.

'There will be no more hiding places for agents of evil,' the President vowed.

He called on the National Assembly to begin reviewing laws to allow states to establish their own police forces.

'I call on the National Assembly to begin reviewing our laws to allow states that require state police to establish them,' Tinubu said, adding that the Federal Government would support state governments that have already set up security outfits to safeguard their people.

The President also addressed the persistent herder-farmer clashes, urging herder associations to take advantage of the newly created Livestock Ministry.

He issued a direct call for an end to open grazing and the surrender of illegal weapons.

'Ranching is now the path forward for sustainable livestock farming and national harmony,' he declared.

He commended the security agencies for the recent successful rescue of 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi State and 38 worshippers in Kwara State.

He assured the nation that efforts would be sustained to rescue the remaining students of a Catholic School in Niger State.

However, the President expressed deep sympathies for families who lost loved ones in recent attacks on 'soft targets' in Kebbi, Borno, Zamfara, Niger, Yobe, and Kwara States.

He notably paid tribute to the late Brigadier-General Musa Uba, who paid the supreme price in the line of duty.

Warning those testing the nation's resolve, Tinubu stated: 'Those who want to test our resolve should never mistake our restraint for weakness... We are in this fight together, and together we shall win.'