FG Unveils Five-Point Security Plan as Sokoto Records Over 1,100 Kidnap Victims in One Year

BY TAIBAT UMMI YAKUBU

The Federal Government has outlined a five-point strategy to combat banditry, terrorism and illegal arms trafficking, with a renewed focus on intelligence gathering, border security, community cooperation and restoring livelihoods in violence-hit areas.

National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, announced the plan on Saturday in Sokoto during a security brainstorming session organised by the Sokoto Advancement Forum (SAF) in collaboration with the Centre for Peace Studies at Usmanu Danfodiyo University.

Represented by the Director of Legal Services in the Office of the NSA, Mr Zakari Usman Mijinyawa, Ribadu said the strategy was designed to strengthen security operations while addressing the conditions that allow criminal groups to flourish.

The five priorities include intelligence-led military and security operations, stronger cooperation among agencies and across international borders, community-based early-warning systems, protection of agricultural livelihoods and measures to prevent vulnerable people from being recruited into criminal networks.

Ribadu said President Bola Tinubu’s administration was intensifying intelligence gathering, military operations, border surveillance and law enforcement through coordinated action involving security agencies, state governments and local communities.

He added that the National Crisis Management Doctrine being developed by the Office of the NSA would provide a framework for a coordinated response to security threats, bringing government institutions and communities together.

On operational measures, the NSA called for sustained security deployments around vulnerable settlements, forest routes and border communities. He identified State Forest Guards and Agro-Rangers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps as important partners in protecting exposed areas.

He also stressed the need for security agencies to share intelligence across borders to prevent armed groups from exploiting jurisdictional gaps or finding safe havens. He called for closer collaboration among the military, intelligence services, police and civil defence personnel.

Ribadu identified Sabon Birni, Isa, Tangaza and Goronyo as areas where stronger early-warning arrangements were needed, urging local governments, traditional institutions and residents to establish effective channels for reporting threats before attacks occur.

Beyond military action, he called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, women and youth organisations to help rebuild public confidence, challenge extremist propaganda and misinformation, and discourage hostility between ethnic and religious communities.

He further emphasised the need for professional policing, impartial enforcement of the law and respect for human rights, warning through his policy outline that security interventions must be accompanied by measures that address the wider social and economic consequences of violence.

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Protecting farms, rural roads, markets, schools and healthcare facilities also featured prominently in the plan. Ribadu said security operations should take agricultural seasons into account to enable farmers to return to their fields and sustain food production.

He added that displaced families should be supported to return home safely and voluntarily, while access to education, vocational training and livelihood opportunities should be expanded to reduce the risk of recruitment into criminal groups.

On the proposed rehabilitation of former fighters, Ribadu said any disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme must comply with the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. He stressed that reintegration must not become a substitute for justice or a reward for violence.

The NSA also disclosed that the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons had recovered 5,449 firearms and destroyed 1,419 illicit weapons in recent nationwide operations. He said the cumulative number of weapons destroyed since 2022 had surpassed 19,000.

Ribadu described Operation Fansan Yamma as a key framework for coordinating security operations across the North-West, noting that banditry in Sokoto had grown beyond cattle rustling and kidnapping into a more complex threat with cross-border connections, including those linked to the Lakurawa group.

However, figures presented at the meeting underscored the scale of the challenge confronting the state.

SAF Chairman, Prof. Mohammad Wali, said attacks had affected 21 of Sokoto's 23 local government areas, while more than 1,100 people were reportedly kidnapped between July 2025 and June 2026.

Wali also cited an attack in Tsamaye, Sabon Birni, in August 2026, in which at least 21 people were killed and 37 others abducted. He commended ongoing security interventions by the Federal Government and the state, including Operation Fansan Yamma and the Sokoto Community Guard Corps.

The forum's Vice-Chairman, Prof. Riskuwa Shehu, drew attention to the wider national dimensions of the crisis, citing SBM Intelligence figures that documented 4,722 abductions in 997 incidents across Nigeria between July 2024 and June 2025.

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Prof. Bashir Garba, represented by the university's Librarian, Dr Kudirat Abiola, called for greater use of research and non-military interventions in tackling insecurity.

She said the Sokoto Advancement Forum would forward its recommendations from the meeting to the government and relevant security agencies for consideration and implementation.