Tinubu prepares five-year plan to end Boko Haram insurgency, tackle insecurity

President Bola Tinubu’s five-year plan to end the 17-year Boko Haram insurgency and tackle other security threats across Nigeria is ready, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has said.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that Nigeria’s multidimensional security threats have triggered Mr Tinubu’s security reforms, including a recruitment drive, expansion of commands, plans for the creation of state police and investment in military hardware and infrastructure.

Boko Haram insurgency has entered its 17th year, spreading from the North-east to the North-central and South-west, where Boko Haram kidnapped schoolchildren in two separate attacks, as documented here and here.

The military has attributed Boko Haram’s expansion to its sustained offensive against terrorists, vowing to maintain the pressure. However, terrorist groups continue to exploit security vacuums and local grievances in poorly governed areas, consolidating their presence, winning over sections of local communities while continuing to kill and abduct their targets.

The five-year plan

The plan is designed to strengthen the country’s security architecture, improve military effectiveness and provide a coordinated response to terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of criminality.

Dele Alake, spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the framework would align defence priorities, operational requirements, military capability development and expenditure with Nigeria’s current and anticipated security challenges.

Mr Alake, who doubles as the Minister of Solid Minerals, stated that the Tinubu administration has recorded the elimination of more than 15,000 Boko Haram insurgents and bandits in the last three years, while over 130,000 Boko Haram fighters and their dependents have surrendered through Operation Safe Corridor, a controversial federal government rehabilitation programme for repentant insurgents.

National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu had shared similar figures at an APC summit.

Mr Alake said the recent figures reflected the administration’s “two-phase” approach to insecurity, combining sustained military operations with non-kinetic interventions.

As part of efforts to expand the military’s operational capacity, Mr Tinubu has created four new Nigerian Army divisions and restructured existing military formations to improve operational coverage and enable troops to respond more swiftly to security threats.

The president has also approved the establishment of two additional army depots in Osogbo, Osun State, and Amasiri-Edda, Ebonyi State, to expand recruitment and training capacity.

The two facilities are designed to accommodate 6,000 recruits each, bringing their combined training capacity to 12,000 soldiers at a time.

The Osogbo facility currently has 5,210 recruits undergoing training, said Mr Alake.

The administration has also approved the recruitment of an additional 28,000 soldiers and 50,000 police officers to strengthen military manpower, internal security and the country’s response to criminal activities.

On military infrastructure and personnel welfare, Mr Alake highlighted a 700-unit military barracks project in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, which is intended to provide accommodation and operational support for military personnel in the area.

He said the five-year defence plan would also prioritise intelligence, surveillance and coordination, with government investments guided by identified security threats, operational requirements and national priorities.

He added that the framework was expected to improve combat readiness, address critical capability gaps, optimise available resources and minimise unnecessary expenditure and wastage.

However, Mr Alake did not provide a specific implementation date for the plan, its projected cost or details of its funding arrangements.