President Bola Tinubu on Friday declared that his administration would intensify its war against terrorism, banditry and kidnapping, warning that those behind violent crimes would either surrender or face the full force of the law.
In his 2026 Democracy Day address, the President said security remained a top priority of his administration, particularly following the recent abduction of schoolchildren in Oyo and Borno states.
“Democracy without security is a mirage,” Tinubu said.
The President disclosed that the Federal Government had declared a security emergency and approved the recruitment of more than 50,000 new police officers alongside thousands of military recruits.
He added that the 2026 budget allocated N5.41 trillion to defence and security, describing it as the largest security allocation in Nigeria’s history.
Highlighting gains in the anti-terror campaign, Tinubu said Nigerian forces had moved from basic training exercises with international partners to precision military operations.
According to him, security forces recently degraded an ISWAP command centre in Arege, Borno State.
The President stated that terror-related deaths had declined by 81% since 2015, while more than 13,000 terrorists were neutralised in the past year.
He also revealed that over 124,000 fighters and their dependents had surrendered through Operation Safe Corridor since 2023.
Tinubu, however, maintained that the government’s willingness to accept repentant fighters would not last indefinitely.
“To bandits, kidnappers, and sponsors of terror: Surrender or face the full force of the Nigerian State. These windows of surrender will not remain open forever. No mercy will be shown to those who trade in the blood of Nigerians,” he said.
President Tinubu urged Nigerians not to ethnicise criminality, stressing that insecurity remained a national challenge requiring collective action.
“Crime has no ethnicity. We must stand united and be assured that the enemies of our nation shall soon be history,” he added.
