President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday declared a nationwide security emergency and unveiled a package of emergency measures intended to bolster Nigeria’s overstretched security architecture, including large-scale recruitment for the police and armed forces, redeployment of officers away from VIP protection, and the temporary repurposing of NYSC camps as training depots.
In a nationally circulated statement, the presidency said the measures aim to “deploy more boots on the ground” in response to a recent spike in kidnappings, attacks on communities and schools, and other high-profile security breaches. The decision authorises the immediate intake of additional personnel for the Nigeria Police Force and the military, with multiple outlets reporting figures ranging from an additional 20,000 up to 30,000 new police recruits depending on the source. The presidency also directed that officers currently assigned to VIP protection be withdrawn, crash-retrained and redeployed to core policing duties in volatile areas.
- Large-scale recruitment: Authorisation to recruit tens of thousands of new police officers and expanded enlistment into the military to raise frontline capacity. Several reports cite a 20,000-officer boost (bringing some planned intakes this year to about 50,000), while others refer to a 30,000 figure in related directives.
- Use of NYSC camps: National Youth Service Corps sites across the country were approved as temporary training depots to fast-track basic training and deployment.
- Redeployment of VIP guards: Police officers assigned to Very Important Persons will be pulled back for crash retraining and reassigned to core policing roles. Officials framed this as a move to restore manpower to community policing functions.
- DSS and forest-guard operations: The presidency signalled intensified operations by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the deployment of forest guards to tackle terrorists and bandits operating in rural and wooded areas.
- Policy priorities: Mr. Tinubu urged the National Assembly to approve frameworks for state police — a longstanding demand from some governors and security experts — and pushed for ranching and livestock reforms to reduce rural conflicts. He also warned schools and institutions to shore up security after a wave of kidnappings and attacks on educational facilities.
The emergency comes amid a fresh wave of mass abductions and violent attacks that have prompted public alarm and criticism of current security arrangements. International and local outlets have highlighted recent large-scale kidnappings in the northern states and a pattern of attacks on soft targets such as schools and churches, which officials say necessitate an urgent scaling up of manpower and better distribution of security resources. Analysts have also pointed to chronic problems — low pay, poor equipment, and a significant portion of the police force diverted to VIP duties — as structural limitations to effective policing.
Reactions have been mixed. Government spokespeople framed the moves as decisive and overdue; civil-society groups and security analysts welcomed increased resources but warned that recruitment alone will not fix problems of intelligence, coordination, corruption, and training. BusinessDay and other outlets have reported that plans to expand recruitments previously stalled because of dilapidated training schools and logistical constraints — a challenge the administration says will be mitigated by using NYSC facilities and accelerating upgrades to police colleges.
Implementation will hinge on funding, rapid mobilisation of training capacity, and legislative support for any structural reforms such as state policing. The presidency has asked security agencies to move swiftly and promised to honour fallen personnel, while urging national unity as the government rolls out the emergency measures. Observers will be watching whether increased numbers and redeployments translate into improved protection for communities and schools in the coming weeks.
