President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday placed Nigeria on a national security emergency footing, authorising major police and military recruitment to confront escalating violence across the country.
A statement from the State House confirmed the president’s directive for the Nigeria Police Force to hire 20,000 new officers, raising the overall approved intake to 50,000.
Tinubu also greenlit the deployment of NYSC camps as interim training centres for the recruits.
The statement said, “Today, in view of the emerging security situation, I have decided to declare a nationwide security emergency and order additional recruitment into the Armed Forces.”
Explaining the scope of the order, the president added, “The police will recruit an additional 20,000 officers, bringing the total to 50,000.” He further approved the conversion of selected NYSC camps into training depots, despite previous plans to upgrade police training institutions nationwide.
Tinubu instructed that officers recently withdrawn from VIP protection duties should receive accelerated “debrief” training before being deployed to frontline policing roles. “The officers being withdrawn from VIP guard duties should undergo crash training to debrief them and deliver more efficient police services when deployed to security-challenged areas of the country,” he said.
In a national address, the president said, “My fellow Nigerians, this is a national emergency, and we are responding by deploying more boots on the ground, especially in security-challenged areas. The times require all hands on deck.”
Tinubu further empowered the Department of State Services to deploy specialised forest guards to pursue terrorists and bandit groups operating deep inside Nigeria’s forests, while approving additional recruitment to support the operations.
Recognising recent rescue missions, Tinubu praised security teams for recovering 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi and 38 church worshippers in Kwara, pledging sustained pressure to rescue more captives. He also paid tribute to soldiers killed in recent counter-terror offensives, including Brigadier-General Musa Uba.
On policy reforms, he urged lawmakers to reconsider security frameworks to allow for state-led policing models where needed, saying the National Assembly should “review laws to allow states to establish state police where necessary”.
The president also called on local authorities and religious institutions to strengthen security around schools and worship centres, warning against unprotected boarding schools in isolated locations. “States should rethink establishing boarding schools in remote areas without adequate security,” he said.
Addressing the root of farmer-herder clashes, Tinubu highlighted the government’s new livestock reforms, urging herder groups to abandon open grazing and adopt ranching. He said, “Our administration created the Livestock Ministry to address the persistent clashes between herders and farmers. I call on all herder associations to take advantage of it, end open grazing, and surrender illegal weapons.”
Reaffirming the government’s commitment, he added, “Ranching is now the path forward for sustainable livestock farming and national harmony. The Federal Government, in collaboration with the states, will work with you… once and for all.”
Closing his message, the president appealed for public vigilance, saying, “Report suspicious activities. Cooperate with security agencies. We are in this fight together, and together we shall win.” He ended with prayers for national peace and the safety of security personnel, saying, “May God continue to bless Nigeria and keep our armed forces safe.”
Following fear of insecurity across the country, a tensed scene unfolded outside the main entrance of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) on Tuesday after live rounds reportedly spilled from a passenger bus cruising along the Zaria–Katsina Highway, prompting alarm among students, commuters, and roadside traders.
The incident was first flagged in an online video by Zagazola Intelligence, stirring speculation across social platforms that the stray ammunition might be tied to illicit supplies intended for armed groups active between Kaduna and Katsina.
A self-identified eyewitness, Musa, said the chaos came without warning.
“We suddenly saw the bullets drop from the bus as it sped past the gate. Before people could understand what happened, the vehicle had already disappeared,” he said.
A student who asked not to be named described the moment as unsettling, adding that the location—just steps from the university’s gate—amplified fears.
“It felt strange and frightening… everyone wondered who was transporting it and why,” he said.
According to Musa, passersby swiftly scooped up some of the rounds before signalling to security officers stationed nearby. An alert was reportedly raised moments after.
Responding to the development, ABU security units mobilised quickly, later supported by police and federal counter-terror officers reviewing the clip.
“We suddenly saw the bullets drop from the bus… it caused confusion instantly,” Musa reiterated in the footage later circulating online.
Rotimi Amaechi and several Kaduna-based civic groups, reacting to the incident, urged tighter monitoring of expressway transit near critical institutions.
Officials from the state police command said operatives eventually arrived and “secured the remnants of the ammunition,” a claim mirrored in Makama’s earlier video, which showed armed personnel combing the roadside and diverting traffic for brief minutes.
While no arrests were reported at the time of filing, the episode has added to public unease over unmonitored highway movement near schools, worship centres, and federal institutions in Northern Nigeria.
This is coming barely 24hrs after this paper reported a religious crusade in Agboda village, Nasarawa State, descended into confusion on Monday night after attendees fled in panic over rumours that armed herders were advancing toward the gathering.
A video circulating online shows worshippers running in all directions as shouts filled the air, though no armed individuals appeared in the footage. The man recording the clip claimed the crowd fled because of feared herdsmen.
“They came for a crusade here in Agboda in Nasarawa State. We came in for crusade in this community today, look at what the herdsmen did. As you can see the way people are moving… you can see the youth, everybody is unrest for the sake of herdsmen,” he said.
But Ramhan Hansel, spokesperson for the Nasarawa police command, noted that no such incident had been reported.
“We don’t know where that incident happened, and there is no report of anything like that in Nasarawa State, so you can help us speak to the person in the video if you know him and ask him to kindly come forward,” he said.
