April 13, (THEWILL) — President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, held an emergency security meeting at the State House, Abuja, bringing together top military commanders, intelligence chiefs, and the Inspector-General of Police to review the nation’s security situation.
The meeting was attended by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Anele.
Others present included the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mohammed Mohammed; Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu; and National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Details of the closed-door session were not made public at the time of report, THEWILL, however, gathered that the meeting was part of ongoing efforts to strengthen coordination among security agencies amid rising security concerns in several parts of the country.
The session comes days after the United States Department of State issued a security advisory authorising voluntary departure of non-essential personnel and their families from its embassy in Abuja, citing what it described as a “deteriorating security situation”.
The advisory placed 23 of Nigeria’s 36 states under a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” classification, the highest risk category, citing insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and North-Central, and insecurity in parts of the South-East and South-South.
Also, the Embassy in Abuja has also suspended visa appointments, although its Lagos consulate continues routine and emergency services.
The meeting also follows a Nigerian Air Force operation in Borno State along the Jilli axis near the Borno–Yobe border, where airstrikes targeted suspected Boko Haram positions.
The Air Force said it carried out “precision airstrikes on identified terrorist locations”, while reports from local sources alleged civilian casualties at Jilli Market, a claim not confirmed by the military.
The Presidency defended the operation, saying intelligence indicated the area had been compromised and used as a logistics hub by Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Tope Ajayi, said the location remained a “legitimate military target” due to terrorist activity.
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