Nigeria’s top security officials have highlighted significant progress in curbing long-standing insecurity under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, citing improved safety in previously volatile northern regions and a near-doubling of oil production in the Niger Delta. National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Christopher Musa detailed these developments during a public engagement forum in Kaduna, part of a two-day government-citizen dialogue aimed at fostering transparency.

Ribadu described the security landscape before Tinubu’s May 2023 inauguration as dire, with bandits controlling swathes of the North-Central and Northwest, orchestrating weekly killings and village burnings. Separatist movements, farmer-herder conflicts, and extremist groups like Boko Haram compounded crises nationwide. “We traced, identified, and dealt with these threats,” he said, claiming coordinated military operations had liberated 80% of Kaduna from bandit control. Critical highways and towns such as Kandawa and Sabon Gali, once inaccessible, now see free movement.

The NSA emphasized collaboration across security agencies and state governments as pivotal to recent gains. Crude oil output in the Niger Delta—previously crippled by militant activity—rebounded from one million barrels daily to over 1.9 million, though challenges persist elsewhere. While welcoming repentant militants, Ribadu noted that “enemies of the state” remain in custody or under investigation, stressing the fight is “not yet over.”

Gen. Musa underscored the military’s community-centric approach, linking improved intelligence to stronger civilian partnerships. He acknowledged porous borders as vulnerabilities, urging residents near frontier zones to report infiltrators. Efforts to engage youth through education and alternative livelihoods aim to undercut recruitment by armed groups, he added, while air and ground operations continue targeting insurgents.

Both officials framed security as foundational to national stability, with Ribadu reiterating Tinubu’s directive to “restore order and give people their lives back.” Skepticism lingers among observers, however, as sporadic attacks still erupt in remote areas. The claims mark an effort by Nigeria’s leadership to reassure citizens and investors amid lingering risks, positioning security gains as critical to economic revival and social cohesion.