President Bola Tinubu has ordered Nigeria’s security chiefs to rescue all abducted persons and eliminate terrorist and bandit camps across the country, as the Federal Government steps up preparations to secure the January 2027 general elections.

Minister of Defence, Gen Christopher Musa (retd.), disclosed the directive on Thursday, October 15, 2026, after a security meeting chaired by President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

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The meeting brought together the heads of the country’s security and intelligence agencies to review the security situation ahead of the elections.

Musa said the President had given the security agencies a clear mandate to intensify operations against terrorists, bandits and kidnappers while creating a safe environment for Nigerians to exercise their franchise.

“The directive from the President is: all of us must go all out to fish out and rescue all those that have been abducted, kidnapped, wherever they are,” Musa said.

He added that Tinubu wanted the security agencies to ensure that “there shouldn’t be any camp of any terrorists or bandits anywhere in Nigeria.”

The directive comes as insecurity remains a major concern ahead of the 2027 elections, with the security architecture facing the dual challenge of protecting communities and ensuring that voters, electoral officials and political parties can participate without intimidation.

Musa said Tinubu had also insisted that the elections must be free, fair and credible, stressing that the security forces would remain neutral.

“Mr President made it very clear he wants a free, fair and credible election. We must do everything possible to ensure that the country is safe and secure for the citizens to go out and vote,” he said.

The minister assured political parties and candidates that security personnel would not use their positions to favour any political group.

“We are going to ensure that we give everybody the opportunity to go and serve, so they have nothing to worry about, nothing to be afraid of, and nobody is going to intimidate them for whatever reasons,” Musa said.

The security meeting also focused on how to prevent terrorists and bandits from returning to areas previously cleared by military operations.

Sources familiar with the deliberations said Tinubu directed the deployment of forest guards in territories reclaimed from criminal groups to help hold the areas after military operations.

The strategy addresses a longstanding operational difficulty in which troops clear criminal groups from forests and other remote locations but may later move on, leaving some territories vulnerable to reoccupation.

“The President has directed that we deploy forest guards to hold the grounds that the military has taken. The military does not hold ground. They simply clear the place and move,” a senior official said.

The Presidential Forest Guards Initiative was launched in May 2025 after the Federal Government began developing a strategy for securing forests and other ungoverned spaces that had become hideouts for kidnappers, bandits and terrorists.

By July 2026, more than 9,000 personnel had been trained under the initiative across 10 states, according to the Office of the National Security Adviser.

The latest phase included more than 2,000 guards trained in Kaduna, Edo and Kogi.

The programme followed an earlier directive for states to recruit and train forest guards, with the Federal Government subsequently ordering the expansion and deployment of additional personnel nationwide.

The latest instruction from Tinubu suggests the guards could increasingly serve as a holding force in areas recovered from insurgents and bandits, although officials did not disclose how many additional guards would be deployed or identify all the territories involved.

The meeting also considered the protection of electricity infrastructure following repeated attacks and vandalism of power facilities.

A government official said the council was considering the designation of power facilities as critical national assets, a move that could lead to additional security measures around vulnerable installations.

The Federal Government had previously designated critical national infrastructure under the Critical National Information Infrastructure Order signed by Tinubu in June 2024.

Power generation and distribution were among the sectors covered by the order.

Security officials also briefed the President on the regional Ebola situation and possible measures to reduce the risk of the virus entering Nigeria.

The discussion followed the confirmation of an imported Bundibugyo Ebola case in Kenya on October 6.

Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention subsequently heightened surveillance and said the country had no confirmed Ebola case.

The outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has continued to expand, while Kenya has since reported a second confirmed case linked to its first patient.

Reuters reported that the DRC outbreak had surpassed 9,000 infections and 4,000 deaths, increasing concern about cross-border transmission.

The World Health Organisation has identified the outbreak as involving the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.

The organisation has continued to support surveillance, contact tracing and cross-border preparedness.

Musa also used the briefing to reject claims that underage persons were being recruited into Nigeria’s armed forces.

He explained that the concern raised during the meeting related instead to the use of children by terrorist groups.

“There is nobody that is underage that is being brought here,” Musa said. “I think the discussion that was made was that the accusation was on the terrorists using underage.”

Beyond immediate operations, the government is also seeking to strengthen the capacity and welfare of security personnel.

Musa said Tinubu was expected to inaugurate about 10 newly acquired aircraft and helicopters as part of efforts to improve the military’s operational capacity.

“Mr President is coming to commission a set of new aircraft and helicopters that have been bought. I think almost about 10 of them in number,” he said.

The minister also pointed to the recent improvement in military salaries. On August 4, Tinubu approved salary increases ranging from 30 to 80 per cent for about 250,000 armed forces personnel, with the adjustments taking effect from September 1.

The largest increase, 80 per cent, applied to personnel from private to staff sergeant level, while officers above the rank of colonel received a 30 per cent increase.

The annual salary bill for the armed forces consequently rose from N660 billion to N924 billion.

The government has also been pursuing military equipment acquisitions. In October 2025, the Defence Ministry said 24 aircraft, including 10 AW109 Trekker attack helicopters and M-346 fighter jets, were being built for Nigeria by Leonardo in Italy.

Musa urged Nigerians to support security agencies by providing information and reporting misconduct by security personnel.

“Security is everybody’s responsibility. It’s not only for members of security forces. Everyone has a role to play,” he said.

The Abuja meeting was attended by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Minister of Police Affairs Ibrahim Gaidam, Minister of State for Defence Bello Matawalle and other senior security officials, including the service chiefs and heads of the intelligence agencies.

It came about 90 days before Nigerians are scheduled to vote in the January 2027 general elections, with the presidential election fixed for January 16.

With the electoral timetable drawing closer, the government’s renewed security push places particular emphasis on rescuing kidnapping victims, preventing the return of armed groups to cleared territories and creating conditions in which voters can participate without fear.

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The effectiveness of the strategy will ultimately depend on how successfully the security agencies can translate the President’s latest directives into sustained operations on the ground, particularly in remote areas where criminal groups have historically exploited difficult terrain and limited state presence.