President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has warned that military action alone cannot end insecurity in the North-Central region, urging communities, traditional and religious leaders, youths, women and the private sector to unite with security agencies in confronting criminality and addressing the root causes of violence. Tinubu gave the charge on Monday at the 2026 North Central […]
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has warned that military action alone cannot end insecurity in the North-Central region, urging communities, traditional and religious leaders, youths, women and the private sector to unite with security agencies in confronting criminality and addressing the root causes of violence.
Tinubu gave the charge on Monday at the 2026 North Central Regional Security Summit in Makurdi, Benue State, where he was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.
Speaking on the theme, “Collaborative Approaches to Strengthening Security and Regional Stability,” the President said insecurity had become too complex for any single security agency, government or community to tackle in isolation.
“No single agency, no single tier of government and no single community can secure this region acting alone. Insecurity does not respect state boundaries or agency mandates,” he said.
Tinubu urged stakeholders to end rivalry, duplication of efforts and the withholding of intelligence, stressing that criminals often move across local government and state boundaries while security responses remain fragmented.
While commending the Armed Forces, police and intelligence agencies for recent gains against terrorists and other criminal groups, including the neutralisation of commanders, surrender of fighters and rescue of captives, the President said military operations must be complemented by measures addressing the conditions that fuel violence.
“Military action alone will not deliver lasting peace to the North Central. Force can suppress violence; it cannot resolve the grievances that produce it,” he said.
He identified competition over land and water, climate change, desertification, unresolved land-use disputes, weak local conflict-resolution mechanisms and the proliferation of illicit weapons among factors sustaining insecurity.
Tinubu urged traditional and religious leaders to become the first line of defence against emerging threats by providing early warning and promoting reconciliation.
“I ask you to be our first line of early warning and our most trusted voice of reconciliation,” he said.
He also called on communities to provide security agencies with timely intelligence and stop protecting criminals because of family, ethnic or other affiliations.
“Security begins with you. I call on every citizen to share information with the security agencies, to refuse to shield criminality out of kinship or sentiment,” he said.
The President said women and youths must be central to peace-building, while government would expand economic opportunities to reduce the attraction of criminality among young people.
“To our young people, your energy is this region’s greatest asset. This administration is committed to expanding the opportunities that make a rifle a far less attractive prospect than a livelihood,” he said.
He also urged investors and development partners to increase their presence in the region, stressing that economic development was integral to security.
“Peace and investment reinforce one another. Every factory built, every farm expanded and every young person employed in this region is a contribution to its security,” Tinubu said.
The President directed the Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), to transmit the summit’s recommendations to him, insisting that its outcome must include clear responsibilities, timelines and measurable results.
“We will be judged not by the quality of our deliberations here, but by whether a farmer in this region sleeps more soundly a year from now,” he said.
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