President Bola Tinubu (m) with the Service Chiefs. Photo: State House
The closed-door engagement lasted for over two hours and had in attendance National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd.); Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Yusuf and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lieutenant General Emmanuel Undiandeye.
Also present were the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Adeola Ajayi; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed; Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (retd.); and the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunde Disu, along with other representatives of the security agencies.
The meeting comes two days after troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA, supported by the Air Component of the Joint Task Force (North West), disrupted what the military had described as a major planned terrorist offensive in Zamfara and Katsina States.
In a July 7 operation, three Nigerian Air Force aircraft tracked a convoy of approximately 300 heavily armed terrorists on motorcycles moving from the Sunke-Kumbo axis toward Gummi and conducted precision airstrikes on the formation.
In a separate engagement, troops neutralised Alhaji Tukur, identified by the military as a notorious bandit commander and the younger brother of wanted kingpin Alhaji Shehu Bagiwaye, in Dogon Kade.
In the North-East, troops of Operation Hadin Kai repelled a fresh assault on the Mairari military base on July 1, following coordinated attacks on military formations, some security analysts describe as a deliberate campaign by ISWAP to overrun forward operating bases and degrade the operational capacity of troops.
At least 13 attacks on military bases have been recorded in 2026 alone, predominantly across Borno State.
At the time of this report, the Presidency had not issued a statement on the details of the meeting.
At a previous security meeting in March, Defence Minister Musa told State House correspondents that the armed forces had come to brief the President on a series of attacks, adding that security forces had risen to the occasion.
“Contrary to what you may read or hear, the terrorists and bandits are taking more casualties. Their commanders are being killed every day. We are confident of victory,” Musa had said.
