Tinubu Declares Security Emergency and Issues Terrorist Ultimatum

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a national security emergency and issued a stern ultimatum to terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers during a nationwide broadcast on June 12, 2026. Marking Nigeria's 27th year of uninterrupted civilian rule, Tinubu demanded the immediate surrender of armed groups, warning that the window for reintegration through Operation Safe Corridor would not remain open indefinitely.

To combat escalating insecurity, including recent child abductions in Oyo and Borno states, the president announced a record N5.41 trillion allocation for defense and security in the 2026 budget. He authorized the recruitment of over 50,000 new police officers and thousands of military personnel. Tinubu reported that the military neutralized more than 13,000 terrorists in the past year and claimed that terror-related deaths have declined by 81% since 2015, though some reports attribute this decline specifically to the period since he took office in 2023.

Tinubu highlighted a strategic shift toward precision targeting, citing the degradation of an Islamic State West Africa Province command center in Arege, Borno State. He also linked national insecurity to the collapse of grassroots governance and announced plans to provide financial autonomy for Nigeria's 774 local government councils. Other measures included the signing of the Electricity Act to decentralize power and the renaming of the Institute of Petroleum Studies, Kaduna, to General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua University.

While the administration cited 124,000 surrenders since 2023, critics and legal experts like Asiwaju Kunle Kalejaye emphasized the urgency of proactive strategies. Additionally, some reports noted the president's omission of a recent mass abduction of 174 women and children in Kwara State during his address.