President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has held a series of high-level security meetings in Abuja, including a closed-door discussion with Nigeria’s military chief and a visiting French general, as violence intensifies across parts of the country.
The meeting at the Presidential Villa on Monday brought together the chief of defence staff, Olufemi Oluyede, and an unnamed French officer, in what officials described as part of deepening military cooperation.
The talks came hours after the president convened an emergency session with service chiefs and intelligence heads, including leaders of the army, navy and air force, as well as the heads of the Department of State Services, the National Intelligence Agency and the police.
Presidency sources said the engagements reflected a push to strengthen Nigeria’s response to a worsening security situation, particularly in the north-east, where insurgent attacks continue to target military positions.
The latest incident saw a colonel and six soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device in Borno state, in an attack linked to jihadist groups operating under the Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province.
The presidency has in recent weeks signalled a renewed effort to seek foreign military support. Tinubu disclosed last month that France, under President Emmanuel Macron, had agreed to provide equipment and training to Nigerian forces, part of a broader attempt to leverage international partnerships.
Officials said Monday’s meeting with the French delegation was consistent with that strategy, though no details of the discussions were made public and no images were released.
The diplomatic outreach comes amid mounting domestic and international scrutiny of Nigeria’s security operations. At the weekend, a Nigerian air force strike on Jilli market near the Yobe–Borno border killed dozens of civilians, according to witnesses, prompting condemnation from Amnesty International, which called for an independent investigation.
The military has defended the strike as a legitimate operation targeting a logistics hub used by insurgents, a position echoed by presidential aides.
At the same time, the United States Department of State authorised the voluntary departure of non-essential embassy staff from Abuja, citing deteriorating security conditions. The advisory elevated more than 20 Nigerian states to its highest “do not travel” category, pointing to threats ranging from Islamist insurgency in the north-east to banditry and communal violence elsewhere.
Nigeria’s government has downplayed the warning, insisting that while security challenges persist in some regions, there is no general breakdown of law and order.
Beyond the north-east, violence has also surged in central Nigeria. In Benue state, at least 14 people were killed in a series of attacks on rural communities, reportedly by armed herders, while a police officer was shot dead responding to one of the incidents.
The convergence of insurgency, communal violence and controversial military operations underscores the scale of the challenge facing Tinubu’s administration, as it seeks both domestic stability and international support to contain multiple security threats.
For now, the flurry of meetings in Abuja signals an increasingly urgent effort to recalibrate Nigeria’s security strategy — even as questions remain over execution, accountability and the human cost of ongoing operations.
