NSA Ribadu Claims Tinubu Administration Has Significantly Reduced Nigeria’s Security Challenges

National Security Adviser (NSA) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu announced on Thursday, May 22, 2025, that the Federal Government and security services have significantly curtailed the multifaceted security challenges inherited by President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Speaking at the APC National Summit in Abuja, marking two years of Tinubu’s leadership, Ribadu highlighted that combined security efforts have contained mass killings, destruction, abductions, and terrorist attacks on government installations. He outlined five major crises inherited in May 2023: Boko Haram in the North-East, armed banditry in the North-West, IPOB/ESN secessionist agitations in the South-East, Niger Delta unrest, and herder-farmer conflicts, particularly in the North-Central.

Ribadu recalled severe incidents before 2023, including the 2022 Abuja-Kaduna train attack, Kuje Prison break, Owo church attack, and an assault on an army battalion in Bwari, Abuja, noting that Boko Haram and banditry had claimed over 35,000 and 12,000 lives, respectively, while displacing millions. He credited improved security coordination for addressing issues like South-East sit-at-home orders and oil installation sabotage in the Niger Delta. Ribadu reported that, in the past two years, 13,543 Boko Haram elements were neutralized, 11,000 arms recovered, and 124,408 fighters and their families surrendered. Despite setbacks, operations continue in areas like Tumbuktu Triangle and Tumbu islands to eliminate remaining insurgents.