President Bola Tinubu has issued a stern warning to security threats across the nation, declaring that no mercy will be shown to terror purveyors and sponsors who enable the killing and kidnapping of innocent Nigerians. Speaking during a national broadcast to mark the 27th consecutive Democracy Day celebration of the country, the President issued a definitive ultimatum to bandits, kidnappers, and financiers of terrorism to surrender immediately or face the overwhelming force of the Nigerian state. He revealed that ongoing military campaigns have already resulted in the neutralization of over 13,000 terrorists within the past year alone.
The President noted that while terror-related deaths nationwide have decreased by 81 per cent since 2015, the festive spirit of this year's celebration was significantly subdued by the ongoing hostage situation involving school children and teachers abducted in Oyo and Borno states. Acknowledging that the crisis has entered its fourth week, Tinubu extended a window of rehabilitation to armed groups through frameworks like Operation Safe Corridor, which has seen over 124,000 fighters and their dependents surrender since 2023. However, he emphasized that this window will not remain open indefinitely for those who continue to trade in human blood.
### Military Scaling and Tactical Adjustments
To bridge the operational gap between available personnel and the urgent safety needs of over 230 million citizens, the President announced that his administration has approved the recruitment of more than 50,000 new police officers alongside thousands of military recruits. He explained that tactical strategies have shifted significantly from joint training exercises with foreign allies like the United States and France to active precision-targeting operations on the ground, citing the recent degradation of an ISWAP command center in Arege, Borno State, as a key milestone. This expansion is backed by a record allocation of N5.41 trillion for defense and security in the 2026 national budget.
Tinubu called for total national solidarity to defeat the insurgency, explicitly rejecting any ethnic or religious profiling of criminal elements. He urged citizens to avoid pointing fingers or assigning blame along regional lines, maintaining that crime possesses no distinct ethnicity and that a unified front remains essential for the survival and prosperity of the democratic republic.
### Power Sector Interventions and Economic Rebuilding
Addressing the persistent power sector deficiencies inherited by his administration, the President detailed structural steps taken to rescue a system historically crippled by chronic generation shortfalls, fragile transmission networks, and an unreliable gas supply. He highlighted the signing of the Electricity Act as a foundational change that legally empowers state governments to independently generate, transmit, and distribute power within their domains. Furthermore, the Presidential Power Sector Task Force has been authorized to raise a N4 trillion bond to clear verified legacy debts and reduce the severe national metering deficit, while the Rural Electrification Agency expands off-grid and mini-grid installations across underserved markets, universities, and hospitals.
On the broader economic landscape, Tinubu reported a substantial rise in federation revenues, which has subsequently provided state and local governments with increased developmental funding. He pointed out that non-oil exports grew by 21 per cent over the past year, aided by the export certification of over 1,000 small and medium enterprises and a five-year plan by the National Agricultural Development Fund to deploy 10,000 tractors. While acknowledging the severe inflationary pressures and hardships still confronting many homes, the President reaffirmed that the economic transition is steadily moving from uncertainty to stability, with future policies explicitly targeted at accelerating growth so that the dividends of democracy are directly felt in the pockets of all Nigerians.
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