Tinubu Meets Service, Intelligence Chiefs, Amid Rising Security Concerns

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday convened an emergency security meeting with service chiefs and intelligence heads at the State House, Abuja, as concerns mount over the country’s security situation.

The closed-door session brought together top military and intelligence officials, including the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Anele; Director-General of the Department of State Services, Oluwatosin Ajayi; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed; and Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu.

Also in attendance was the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, alongside other senior officials.

The meeting comes amid heightened security concerns, including an airstrike by the Nigerian Air Force in Borno State, which reportedly resulted in civilian casualties.

The strike, carried out on Saturday in Jilli Market along the Borno–Yobe border, targeted suspected Boko Haram positions.

While the Air Force confirmed conducting “precision mop-up airstrikes on identified terrorist locations” in the area, it said that it would investigate claims of civilian deaths.

However, the Presidency defended the operation, stating that the location had been infiltrated by insurgents.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Tope Ajayi, told Bloomberg that the market had become “a legitimate military target” after fighters from Boko Haram and ISWAP allegedly turned it into a logistics and trading hub.

Heightened security concerns also followed a recent advisory issued by the United States Department of State, which authorised the voluntary departure of non-essential personnel and their families from the U.S. Embassy in Abuja.

The advisory, issued on April 8, cited a “deteriorating security situation” and placed 23 Nigerian states under a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” classification, the highest risk category.

Newly listed states include Plateau, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger, and Taraba.

U.S. authorities highlighted threats ranging from insurgency in the North-East to banditry across the North-West and North-Central, as well as persistent violence in parts of the South and South-East, including oil-producing regions.

Following the advisory, visa appointments at the Abuja embassy were suspended, while services at the Lagos consulate continue.

Reacting, the Federal Government dismissed the warning as a routine precaution, maintaining that it does not reflect the broader security reality across the country.

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