President Bola Tinubu on Monday evening met behind closed doors with Nigeria’s Service Chiefs at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, amid renewed efforts to address the country’s worsening security challenges.
The meeting, which began at about 6:01 p.m., saw the security chiefs arrive at the villa’s forecourt before proceeding to the President’s office. Although details of the discussions were not officially disclosed, the engagement is seen as part of high-level consultations on national security.
It was the President’s first formal interaction with the military high command since the swearing-in of General Christopher Musa (retd.) as Minister of Defence on December 4, 2025. The talks also came against the backdrop of heightened insecurity, including the continued captivity of 115 students abducted from a Catholic boarding school in November, as well as the Senate’s recent approval of troop deployment to Benin Republic following an attempted coup.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has sustained offensive operations against terrorist enclaves in the North-East. On December 14, 2025, NAF aircraft carried out precision air interdiction missions at Dabar Masara in the Southern Tumbuns of Borno State, a known terrorist stronghold.
The Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said the operation, conducted by the Air Component of Joint Task Force Operation HADIN KAI, targeted a terrorist workshop and vehicles concealed under thick vegetation. He confirmed that post-strike assessments showed the destruction of the vehicles and the neutralisation of several terrorist elements.
Ejodame noted that intelligence-driven precision air operations remain critical to disrupting terrorist logistics and weakening insurgent networks across the North-East. The Southern Tumbuns, a vast marshland around Lake Chad, has long served as a hideout for terrorist groups, prompting sustained combined air and ground operations by the military.
In the North-Central region, troops of Joint Task Force Operation Enduring Peace also recorded notable successes in Kaduna and Plateau states. According to the JTF spokesman, Major Samson Zhakom, operations conducted between December 11 and 13 led to the neutralisation of several kidnappers and the rescue of abducted victims.
On December 11, troops carried out clearance operations in Dangoma and Godogodo villages in Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, killing three notorious kidnappers, while others escaped. A day later, a covert operation in Plateau State targeted a suspected kidnapper and gunrunner linked to multiple crimes in Bassa and Jos North LGAs. The suspect was neutralised after opening fire on troops, with a pistol, ammunition, a dagger, a mobile phone and cash recovered.
On December 13, security forces thwarted an impending attack at Gidan-Saki Village in Zangon Kataf LGA of Kaduna State, forcing the criminals to abandon their plans. That same day, an ambush operation in Jengre, Plateau State, following the abduction of four persons at Rimi Village in Jere District, resulted in the rescue of all victims and the killing of one kidnapper. An AK-47 rifle, a magazine and 13 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition were recovered during the operation.
Major Zhakom reaffirmed the task force’s commitment to maintaining pressure on criminal elements and ensuring the safety of residents within its operational areas.
The combined high-level security consultations and intensified military operations underscore the Federal Government’s renewed push to combat insecurity, rescue abducted citizens and dismantle criminal and terrorist networks nationwide.
