Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to strengthening national security and restoring stability across Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that speaking at a regional security summit in Kaduna on Saturday, Badaru said the president has directed the defence sector to develop a robust national security framework capable of addressing banditry, terrorism, and organised crime.
Badaru said, “The president’s directive is to establish a strong, yet adaptive national security architecture to eradicate these threats.”
He added that joint security operations in Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, and Kebbi have reopened key routes, improving movement along the Kaduna-Kachia, Kaduna-Birnin Gwari, Jibia-Gurbin Baure, and Sokoto-Illela corridors. Markets in Kaura Namoda, Shinkafi, Batsari, Giwa, and Kajuru are now more active, and displaced residents are gradually returning home.
Despite these gains, Badaru acknowledged that the north-west continues to face persistent threats from bandits and criminal networks, emphasizing the need for coordinated efforts.
Commenting on the situation, Muhammad Isa, a public administration professor at Ahmadu Bello University, noted that current strategies are hampered by fragmentation, weak coordination, overstretched institutions, and inconsistent policies.
He warned that tactical successes often fail to produce lasting peace because the root causes of insecurity remain unaddressed and called for a more unified regional response to the mobility of armed groups, the spread of bandit enclaves, and the humanitarian impact of prolonged violence.
Babangida Hussaini, chair of the summit’s organising committee, explained that the meeting aimed to provide a platform for stakeholders to discuss rising insecurity in the region and nationwide.
He also announced that a national security summit will be held in Abuja on December 1 to gather Nigerians’ input on improving security across the country.
