President Bola Tinubu has mandated continuous aerial monitoring of forests in Kwara State, Kebbi State, and parts of Niger State as part of a renewed effort to combat insurgents and bandits operating in the North Central and North East.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, stated that the president’s directive includes a comprehensive military cordon aimed at displacing terrorists and curbing the rising violence.
Dare announced the decision on his verified X account, @SundayDareSD, revealing that the president has instructed the air force to extend surveillance to the deepest areas of the forests where criminal groups are suspected to be hiding.
Following this directive, the air force is now tasked with maintaining round-the-clock aerial monitoring of these troubled areas and coordinating operations with ground troops already engaged in rescue and counter-terrorism efforts.
He noted that similar operational intensity will be applied along the Kebbi-Niger route, where multiple rescue missions are currently underway.
This order comes in response to a troubling increase in insecurity in the region, highlighted by last week’s mass kidnapping of worshippers in Eruku, Kwara State, and violent incidents in Kebbi and Niger States.
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Tinubu, who has been receiving ongoing intelligence updates from frontline commanders, has instructed all security forces to adopt what Dare described as an “all-out, no-retreat posture” until the criminals are neutralized and all abducted individuals are safely returned.
Communities in the affected areas have been encouraged to promptly report any unusual movements or suspicious activities to assist the intensified military response.
This new directive follows the president’s earlier order to withdraw police escorts from VIPs to strengthen community policing and enhance joint operations across the North.
Security analysts believe that the expanded cordon and continuous surveillance indicate a robust federal response aimed at reclaiming rural and peri-urban areas from armed groups.
