President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered 24-hour aerial surveillance over forests in Kwara, Kebbi and parts of Niger State as part of a renewed offensive against insurgents and bandits operating across the Northcentral and Northeast regions. According to the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, the President issued the directive with instructions for a full-scale military cordon aimed at dislodging the terrorists and stopping the escalating violence.

 

 

 

Dare, who announced the decision on his verified X handle, @SundayDareSD, said the President mandated the Nigerian Air Force to extend surveillance “across the innermost parts of the forests” where criminal groups are believed to be hiding. In line with the directive, the Air Force is now required to maintain uninterrupted 24-hour aerial monitoring of the troubled locations and synchronise operations with ground troops already deployed for rescue and counter-terrorism missions. Dare added that the same operational intensity will be applied along the Kebbi–Niger axis, where multiple rescue efforts are ongoing.

 

 

 

 

The President’s order follows a worrying surge in insecurity in the region, including last week’s mass abduction of worshippers in Eruku, Kwara State, and violent attacks in Kebbi and Niger. On Sunday, 38 abductees from Eruku were rescued, while 51 Niger pupils were reunited with their parents. Kidnapped students from Kebbi also regained their freedom. Despite these breakthroughs, fresh attacks were recorded yesterday as bandits invaded Isapa in Kwara State and abducted 11 people, including a pregnant woman and children.

 

Tinubu, who has been receiving continuous intelligence briefings from frontline commanders, directed all security formations to adopt what Dare described as an “all-out, no-retreat posture” until the perpetrators are neutralised and all abducted citizens safely returned. Communities in the affected zones have also been urged to provide prompt intelligence on unusual movements or suspicious activities to support the intensified military response.

 

 

 

The new directive comes on the heels of the President’s earlier order for the withdrawal of police escorts from VIPs to reinforce community-level policing and strengthen joint operations across the North. Security analysts say the expanded cordon and 24-hour surveillance signal an aggressive federal response aimed at reclaiming rural and peri-urban spaces from armed groups.

 

 

 

Three days after the rescue of abducted residents in Eruku, gunmen launched another attack in nearby Isapa. A community elder said, “11 people were kidnapped, seven of them from the same household. The victims include a pregnant woman, two nursing mothers and several young children.” Witnesses reported that the attackers fired repeatedly as they advanced, leaving bullet holes in homes, while spent AK-47 shells were recovered after they retreated with their captives.

 

Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, visited the community for an on-the-spot assessment. The command’s spokesperson, DSP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said, “At about 6:30pm of the same date, the command received distress information on sporadic gunfire within the community. Swiftly responding, police operatives mobilized patrol vehicles and tactical teams to the scene.” She added, “Preliminary findings revealed a group of armed men suspected to be herders invaded the village shooting sporadically. As a result, a woman sustained gunshot wound to her leg; she has since been treated and discharged. Further details from police operatives discovered that 10 persons were later abducted.”

 

 

 

Ejire-Adeyemi noted that the Commissioner met with traditional rulers including the Onisapa of Isapaland, Oba Gbenga Adeyeye, and the Olokesa of Okesaland, Oba Olu Fagbamila Raphael Olusegun, as well as local and youth leaders, to assure them of intensified efforts to rescue the victims and restore confidence in the area. She said, “A search-and-rescue operation is currently underway, involving police tactical teams and local vigilante groups, who are combing the surrounding bushes with the objective of rescuing the victims and apprehending the culprits. Normalcy has been restored in the village, and the situation remains under strict monitoring.”