President Bola Tinubu and North-Central governors on Monday demanded stronger intelligence sharing and closer collaboration among states, communities and security agencies to tackle worsening insecurity in the region.
They made the call at the 2026 North-Central Regional Security Summit in Makurdi, Benue State, where stakeholders sought a united response to banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder conflicts and other security threats.
Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, said insecurity had become a challenge that could not be addressed by any single state, agency or community.
He urged Nigerians to provide timely intelligence to security agencies and stop shielding criminals because of family ties, ethnicity or sentiment.
“Insecurity transcends state boundaries and institutional mandates, requiring security agencies and communities to overcome rivalry, duplication of efforts and the withholding of vital information,” he said.
The President added, “No single agency, no single tier of government and no single community can secure this region acting alone.”
He said criminals were moving across local government and state boundaries while institutional rivalry and poor information sharing were slowing security responses.
“That must end,” Tinubu declared.
The President said his administration had strengthened Nigeria’s security architecture through greater cooperation among the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police Force and intelligence services.
He also cited the acquisition of new military platforms and advanced capabilities, alongside efforts to improve the welfare of troops.
Tinubu said the Federal Government was rebuilding the indigenous defence industry through the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act.
He, however, warned that military operations alone could not deliver lasting peace in the North-Central.
“Force can suppress violence; it cannot resolve the grievances that produce it,” he said.
Tinubu identified competition over land and water, climate change, desertification, unresolved land-use disputes, weak local conflict-resolution mechanisms and the proliferation of illicit weapons as factors contributing to insecurity.
He said the government would therefore combine security operations with development interventions.
According to him, the Federal Government’s livestock reforms, including the transition from open grazing to modern livestock production, were designed to reduce pressure on farmlands and address a major source of conflict.
The President also highlighted investments in irrigation, mechanised agriculture, rural roads and access to credit under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the measures were aimed at turning the region’s vulnerabilities into economic opportunities.
Tinubu tasked traditional and religious leaders with taking a leading role in preventing conflicts and providing early warnings to security agencies.
“To our revered traditional rulers and religious leaders, you hold an authority that no uniform confers,” he said.
“You know your communities intimately. You know when a stranger arrives, when a young man falls into bad company, and when a quarrel between two families is about to become a conflict between two peoples.”
He urged the leaders to reject inflammatory rhetoric capable of worsening ethnic and religious tensions.
Tinubu also called on women and youths to take central roles in peace-building efforts.
He urged development partners and the private sector to view the North-Central not merely as a region requiring assistance, but as an investment destination with significant economic potential.
The summit ended with a renewed call for governments, communities and security agencies to share information and coordinate their responses to insecurity across the region.
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