President Bola Tinubu on Monday evening held a closed-door meeting with Nigeria’s Service Chiefs at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, as security concerns continue to dominate national discourse.
The meeting, which started around 6:01 p.m., saw the security chiefs arrive at the Villa’s forecourt before proceeding into the President’s office. It was Tinubu’s first engagement with the military high command since the swearing-in of retired General Christopher Musa as Minister of Defence on December 4, 2025.
Although details of the discussion were not made public, the meeting comes against the backdrop of rising security challenges, including the continued captivity of 115 students abducted from a Catholic boarding school in November and the Senate’s recent approval for the deployment of Nigerian troops to Benin Republic following an attempted coup.
The engagement also coincided with intensified military operations across the country. On December 14, the Nigerian Air Force carried out precision air strikes on Dabar Masara in the Southern Tumbuns of Borno State, a known terrorist enclave. The Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI targeted a logistics hub, destroying concealed vehicles and neutralising several terrorist elements.
According to the Director of Public Relations and Information of the Air Force, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, post-strike assessments confirmed the success of the mission, stressing that intelligence-driven air operations remain vital to degrading insurgent networks in the North-East.
Beyond the North-East, troops of Joint Task Force Operation Enduring Peace also recorded successes in Kaduna and Plateau states. Between December 11 and 13, clearance and intelligence-led operations led to the neutralisation of several kidnappers and the rescue of abducted victims across multiple locations.
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In Kaduna State, troops eliminated three suspected kidnappers during operations in Dangoma and Godogodo villages, while in Plateau State, a notorious kidnapper and gunrunner was neutralised during a covert operation. Another ambush in Jengre led to the rescue of four kidnapped victims and the recovery of arms and ammunition.
Military authorities have reiterated their commitment to sustaining pressure on criminal and terrorist groups as the Federal Government steps up efforts to restore security, rescue abducted citizens, and dismantle criminal networks across the country.
