Orders Massive Recruitment Across Security Agencies
By Muhammed Akindele
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared a nationwide security emergency following the worsening state of insecurity across several parts of the country.
In a directive issued on Tuesday, the President ordered the Army and the Nigeria Police Force to immediately recruit 20,000 new personnel, in addition to the 30,000 officers earlier approved, bringing the total number of new recruits to 50,000.
Tinubu also instructed that NYSC orientation camps across the country be converted into temporary police training depots to fast-track the training and deployment of new officers. He further ordered that VIP police escorts withdrawn in recent weeks must be retrained and redeployed to high-risk areas facing severe security threats.
In another sweeping directive, the President ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to immediately deploy forest guards and commence the recruitment of more personnel to locate and flush out terrorists and bandits operating in remote forests.
Tinubu said the federal government would fully support state governments establishing local security outfits, adding that the National Assembly had been urged to begin legislative work on the creation of state police.
The President also appealed to herders to end open grazing, embrace ranching, and surrender all illegal weapons in their possession.
He paid tribute to victims of recent attacks across the country, as well as fallen military personnel, including Brigadier-General Musa Uba, who was killed during a counter-terrorism operation.
