President Bola Tinubu marked 27 years of unbroken democracy on June 12 with a stark warning to bandits and terrorists: surrender now or face the full force of the Nigerian State.
“We keep the door of surrender open. But these windows will not remain open forever. No mercy will be shown to those who trade in the blood of Nigerians,” Tinubu declared in his Democracy Day broadcast.
The President said that his administration had declared a security emergency, approved recruitment of over 50,000 new police officers and thousands of military personnel, and committed N5.41 trillion in the 2026 budget — the largest ever allocation to defence and security.
He said the shift from allied training to “precision targeting” had degraded ISWAP’s command centre in Arege, Borno, and reduced terror-related deaths by 81% since 2015.
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More than 13,000 terrorists have been neutralised in the past year, while 124,000 fighters and dependents have laid down arms since 2023 through Operation Safe Corridor.
Though he paid tribute to June 12 heroes and honoured dozens of activists and “soldier-democrats” with national awards, Tinubu’s mood was sobered by the abduction of children in Oyo and Borno.
“Democracy without security is not solid enough,” he said.
“Crime has no ethnicity. We must stand united and be assured that the enemies of our nation shall soon be history. We will triumph over terror,” he added, calling for unity over blame
