President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday held a closed-door security meeting with Nigeria’s service chiefs at the Presidential Villa in Abuja following fresh insurgent attacks that reportedly claimed the lives of three senior military officers.
The meeting, which lasted nearly two hours, was the first between the President and the country’s top security officials since Tunji Disu assumed office as the Inspector-General of Police.
Sources familiar with the meeting said discussions centred on the deteriorating security situation in parts of the country, particularly in the North-East where insurgent groups have intensified attacks on military personnel and installations.
The recent assaults have heightened concerns within security circles after several high-ranking officers were reportedly killed in separate attacks linked to Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
For more than a decade, the insurgency led by Boko Haram and ISWAP has devastated communities across Borno State, Yobe State, and Adamawa State, leaving tens of thousands dead and forcing millions of residents to flee their homes.
Although the Nigerian military has in recent years announced the recovery of large territories previously controlled by insurgents, the groups continue to stage ambushes, raid military bases, and attack civilian settlements.
Security experts say the latest wave of violence suggests insurgents are increasingly focusing on military targets, including convoys and remote forward operating bases, a tactic that has occasionally resulted in the deaths of senior officers.
The renewed attacks have intensified pressure on the Tinubu administration to reassess its counter-insurgency strategy and strengthen security operations in the North-East and other regions affected by armed violence.
