President Bola Tinubu held a closed-door meeting with the Service Chiefs at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday evening.
The session began around 6:01 pm local time, with the security chiefs arriving at the forecourt before being ushered into the President’s office.
This marks Tinubu’s first engagement with the military high command since swearing in General Christopher Musa (retd.) as the new Minister of Defence on December 4, 2025.
While the official agenda remains undisclosed, the meeting comes amid mounting security concerns, including the ongoing captivity of 115 students kidnapped from a Catholic boarding school in November, and the recent approval by Nigeria’s Senate for troop deployment to Benin Republic following an attempted coup there.
The engagement comes as the Nigerian Air Force conducted precision air interdiction missions at Dabar Masara, a known terrorist location in the Southern Tumbuns of Borno State, on December 14, 2025.
The operation, executed by the Air Component of Joint Task Force Operation HADIN KAI, targeted a terrorist workshop and vehicles concealed under vegetation, identified as an active logistics hub.
The Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said post-operation assessment confirmed the destruction of the vehicles and neutralisation of terrorist elements.
He emphasised that the NAF’s precision, intelligence-driven air operations remain critical in disrupting terrorist networks and enhancing security across the North-East.
The Southern Tumbuns, a network of marshlands around Lake Chad, has remained a major hideout for terrorist groups.
The Nigerian military continues to sustain combined air and ground operations in the area to degrade insurgent capabilities.
These developments highlight the federal government’s intensified efforts to combat insecurity, rescue abducted citizens, and dismantle criminal and terrorist networks across Nigeria.
Also, troops of the Joint Task Force Operation Enduring Peace conducted a series of operations in Kaduna and Plateau states.
According to the JTF spokesman, Maj. Samson Zhakom,operations conducted between December 11 and 13, 2025, resulted in the neutralisation of several kidnappers and the rescue of multiple abducted victims.
On December 11, troops conducted clearance operations in Dangoma and Godogodo villages, Jema’a LGA, Kaduna State, neutralising three notorious kidnappers while others fled.
On December 12, a covert operation in Plateau State targeted a notorious kidnapper and gunrunner responsible for multiple crimes in Bassa and Jos North LGAs. The suspect opened fire but was swiftly neutralised, with recovered items including a pistol, ammunition, a dagger, a mobile phone, and cash. On December 13, troops responded to intelligence on an impending attack at Gidan-Saki Village, Zangon Kataf LGA, Kaduna State, causing the criminals to abandon their mission. That same day, in Jengre, Plateau State, an ambush operation following the kidnapping of four persons at Rimi Village, Jere District, led to the rescue of all victims and the neutralisation of one kidnapper, with an AK-47 rifle, a magazine, and 13 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition recovered.
Major Zhakom reiterated the JTF’s commitment to sustaining pressure on criminal elements and ensuring the safety of citizens in operational areas.
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