By Bukola Hameed
Asserting that democracy cannot truly thrive without a solid foundation of safety, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu used his nationwide Democracy Day address to announce an unprecedented ₦5.41 trillion budget allocation dedicated entirely to national defence and security.
The massive fiscal commitment stands as the largest security investment in Nigeria’s history, signaling a highly aggressive, tech-driven phase in the federal government’s campaign to permanently crush insurgency, banditry, and violent crime across the federation.
The President’s security-heavy broadcast arrived at a time when public anxiety remains high following the distressing abductions of school children in parts of Oyo and Borno states. Acknowledging that the national mood has been heavily dampened by these frontline breaches, Tinubu bypassed political diplomacy to issue a fierce, uncompromising ultimatum directly to criminal syndicates and their networks of backers.
He warned that the windows of conditional surrender would not remain open indefinitely, declaring that no mercy will be shown to those who trade in the blood of Nigerians, and ordered them to capitulate immediately or face the full, devastating force of the state.
Detailing the tactical advancements within the Armed Forces, President Tinubu revealed that Nigeria’s security architecture has successfully transitioned beyond basic foundational training exercises with international allies like the United States, France, and European partners. The military has instead pivoted to high-level, intelligence-led precision targeting missions designed to systematically dismantle insurgent leadership networks and command structures.
As evidence of this operational evolution, the President cited the recent strategic degradation of an ISWAP command center in Arege, Borno State, while noting that terror-related deaths across Nigeria have plummeted by 81% since 2015. He added that over 13,000 terrorists were permanently neutralized by security forces within the past year alone, even as the federal government keeps the door of rehabilitation open for the 124,000 active fighters and dependents who have laid down their weapons since 2023 through Operation Safe Corridor.
To sustain these frontline gains and permanently secure the domestic space, Tinubu explained that his administration’s declaration of a security emergency has already facilitated the rapid recruitment and deployment of over 50,000 new police officers alongside thousands of fresh military personnel. Crucially, the President linked the persistence of rural insecurity directly to the historical collapse of grassroots governance, arguing that a major catalyst for rural crime has been ineffective local government administration. He firmly positioned his administration’s legal push for total financial autonomy across Nigeria’s 774 local councils as a strategic, structural tool to restore law and order at the community level.
Appealing for absolute national solidarity as these comprehensive operations intensify, Tinubu urged citizens to reject divisive internal narratives, reminding the nation that crime possesses no ethnicity and that a united front is the only way to ensure the enemies of the state are soon reduced to history.
June 12: Tinubu commits record ₦5.41trn to defence, signals shift to ‘precision targeting’ to end terror
