Tinubu meets security chiefs in Aso Rock

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday held a closed-door meeting with senior military and intelligence chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to review the country’s security situation.

The meeting, which lasted more than two hours, was attended by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd.); the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu; and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Undiandeye.

Also present were the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Adeola Ajayi; the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed; the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunde Disu; and the President’s Special Adviser on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (retd.), among other top security officials.

Although details of the meeting were not disclosed, it came as the National Security Adviser warned that kidnapping has emerged as one of Nigeria’s most pressing security challenges.

Speaking through the National Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Major General Adamu Garba Laka (retd.), at a separate event in Abuja earlier on Thursday, Ribadu said criminal groups were adopting increasingly sophisticated tactics, exploiting technology and operating across multiple jurisdictions.

He stressed the need for sustained collaboration among security agencies, timely intelligence sharing and coordinated operational responses to tackle the growing threat.

“Kidnapping has become one of Nigeria’s most urgent threats,” Ribadu said, warning that criminal networks were becoming more organised and technologically advanced.