Tinubu Meets Service Chiefs Over Rising Threats

President Bola Tinubu on Monday held a high-level security meeting with service chiefs and heads of intelligence agencies at the State House, Abuja, amid mounting concerns over the country’s security situation.

The closed-door session, described as an emergency meeting, was attended by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; the Chief of Army, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Anele.

Also present were the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Oluwatosin Ajayi; the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed; and the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu.

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, alongside other top security officials, was also in attendance.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of recent developments, including a travel advisory issued by the United States Department of State authorising the voluntary departure of non-emergency government personnel and their families from its embassy in Abuja.

The advisory, issued on April 8, cited what it described as a “deteriorating security situation” and placed 23 of Nigeria’s 36 states under a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” classification, the highest risk category. Newly added states include Plateau, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger and Taraba.

US authorities highlighted threats ranging from insurgency in the Northeast to banditry in the Northwest and North-Central, as well as persistent violence in parts of the South and Southeast, including oil-producing regions.

The embassy subsequently suspended visa appointments in Abuja, although its Lagos consulate continues to offer routine and emergency services.

Reacting, the federal fovernment dismissed the advisory as a routine precaution based on US internal protocols, insisting it does not reflect the broader security reality across the country.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said while isolated incidents persist, “there is no general breakdown of law and order, and the vast majority of the country remains stable.”

The meeting is also taking place in the wake of a Nigerian Air Force airstrike in Borno State that reportedly killed over 100 civilians.

The strike, which occurred on Saturday at Jilli Market along the Borno-Yobe border, was aimed at suspected Boko Haram targets.

While the Nigerian Air Force confirmed carrying out “precision mop-up airstrikes on identified terrorist locations” in the Jilli axis, it did not acknowledge civilian casualties or confirm that a market was hit.