Mohammed Badaru, Minister of Defence, has said President Bola Tinubu is committed to enhancing national security and restoring stability across Nigeria.
Speaking at a regional security summit in Kaduna on Saturday, Badaru noted that the president has mandated the defence establishment to construct a robust security framework capable of tackling banditry, terror cells, and organised criminal networks.
“The president’s directive is to establish a strong, yet adaptive national security architecture to eradicate these threats,” Badaru said.
The minister highlighted that joint security operations across Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, and Kebbi states have reopened key transport routes, improving movement along corridors such as Kaduna-Kachia, Kaduna-Birnin Gwari, Jibia-Gurbin Baure, and sections of Sokoto-Illela.
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He added that markets in Kaura Namoda, Shinkafi, Batsari, Giwa, and Kajuru “now record higher activity,” while displaced residents have begun returning to their communities.
Badaru, however, cautioned that the north-west “continues to face lingering threats” from bandits and criminal networks, emphasizing that sustained, coordinated action remains essential.
Muhammad Isa, a professor of public administration at Ahmadu Bello University, said current security strategies are hampered by “fragmentation, weak coordination, overstretched institutions and inconsistent policies.”
“Even where tactical gains occur, they fail to translate into sustainable peace because structural drivers of insecurity remain unaddressed,” Isa noted, urging a more coordinated regional approach to tackle 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 event was convened to provide stakeholders with a platform to discuss rising insecurity in the region and across Nigeria.
He further announced that a national security summit will take place in Abuja on December 1 to collate public input on improving nationwide security.