The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is making significant progress in overcoming the complex and long-standing security challenges it inherited.
Ribadu made the statement on Friday night while delivering a lecture titled “Veterans As Significant National Assets” at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s 18th Regular Course in Abuja.
He recalled that in 2022, Nigeria was at a critical juncture, beset by crises that threatened national unity and stability.
“Nigeria was facing five intractable security challenges when this administration took office in May 2023,” Ribadu said. “We had Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, deadly banditry across the North West and North Central, resurgent separatist violence in the South East, large-scale oil theft in the Niger Delta, and communal clashes that had claimed thousands of lives.”
He also noted that porous borders, transnational crime, and climate-induced resource conflicts had created “a near-perfect storm of instability.”
Despite these daunting threats, Ribadu highlighted the administration’s achievements in restoring order and public confidence. According to him, over 13,500 terrorists and criminals have been neutralised, while more than 124,000 Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters, along with their families, have surrendered. Large quantities of weapons and ammunition have been recovered, and key insurgent strongholds in the Sambisa Forest, Lake Chad Basin, and Timbuktu Triangle are now under government control.
He pointed to the North West as another area showing improvement. “More than 11,250 hostages have been rescued in Zamfara and Kaduna States alone,” Ribadu disclosed. He also confirmed the neutralisation of notorious bandit leaders such as Ali Kachalla, Halilu Sububu, and Dogo Bwari, along with over 50 criminal leaders and their deputies.
Ribadu credited both military pressure and non-kinetic strategies for the progress, particularly highlighting Operation Safe Corridor Northwest, which has led to the surrender of 35 armed leaders. “This was once unimaginable, but through coordinated military pressure and community-based peace efforts, we are making real progress,” he said.
In the Niger Delta, the NSA said the government had reclaimed control over the region’s oil infrastructure, once plagued by theft and sabotage. “Oil production has risen from a historic low of one million barrels per day to an average of 1.8 million,” Ribadu stated. He added that more than 1,900 illegal refineries had been dismantled and that, “For the first time in three decades, oil production is resuming in Ogoniland.”
Turning to the South East, Ribadu said that a combination of targeted security operations and community engagement had restored calm. “The so-called ‘sit-at-home’ orders by separatist agitators have significantly waned, and many arrested key figures are facing justice,” he noted. “Social and economic life is beginning to return to normal. Rebuilt police stations and renewed law enforcement presence are restoring confidence.”
Ribadu also spoke on modern threats, noting advancements in cyber defence and financial intelligence. He said illegal financial flows—particularly through cryptocurrency platforms—used to fund terrorism and separatism had been disrupted. He announced the deployment of a National Digital Forensics Laboratory and a Critical Infrastructure Protection Plan to enhance national cyber resilience.
The event was attended by several dignitaries, including the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar; the Minister of State for Defence; the Chief of Defence Staff; and representatives of the service chiefs.
