CNS: Security Challenges Require Societal Approach

Olukolade insists technology indispensable in managing modern crisis  

ADC says Tinubus withdrawal of police from VIPs mere political grandstanding  

Akinyemi urges president to suspend military retirement rules, declare nationwide emergency  

NARC offers solutions to national security challenges

Chuks Okocha, Linus Aleke in Abuja, Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan, Sylvester Idowu in Warri and Okon Bassey in Uyo 

Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Rear Admiral Idi Abass, has said the prevailing security challenges in the country require societal approach.

Abass maintained that the Nigerian Navy needed the communities, while communities also needed the Navy, so, it is symbiotic.

Abass spoke yesterday during his maiden familiarisation visit to the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS Delta) in Warri.

He declared: We cannot do without the community people and the locals cannot do without the Navy. They are the locals, and they know who is who in a particular area. 

We do not have other options than to work with them because we get information or intelligence from them.

The naval chief said the Nigerian Navy conducted regular medical rhapsody as well as distribution of palliatives to the locals in order to bring them closer.

He assured the people that the Nigerian Navy would continue to maintain the existing peace in the maritime space.

The CNS was received by Commander of NNS Delta, Commodore Abdulazeez Zubairu.

Speaking to journalists, Abass stated that there had been great improvement in the security situation in the Niger Delta.

He said the development had led to increase in crude oil production and, by implication, more foreign exchange.

He stated, The Nigerian Navy will continue to do everything possible to maintain the peace we have within our maritime environment to enable legitimate businesses to thrive.

Of course, Nigeria relies heavily on crude oil production, particularly in the Niger Delta region, and Delta is home to most of the offshore assets.

Addressing the personnel earlier, the CNS urged them to always maintain the highest standards of professionalism and discipline in their conducts.

He also urged the personnel to work in line with the core values of the Nigerian Navy, which, according to him, were professionalism, integrity and teamwork.

The naval chief reminded the personnel that they were the custodians of the maritime environment, where crude oil was explored.

Abass assured them that hard work will always be rewarded while indiscipline will be severally sanctioned.

Technology Indispensable Pillar in Modern Crisis Management, Gen Olukolade Asserts

Chairman of Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC), Major General Chris Olukolade (Rtd), said technology had become an indispensable pillar of modern crisis management. 

Olukolade said contemporary security threats had outgrown traditional response mechanisms and now demanded technology-driven strategies.

Speaking at the National Symposium on Digital Innovations in Crisis Communication in Abuja, the ex-Director of Defence Information explained that real-time data analytics, digital communication platforms, surveillance tools and artificial intelligence now played a vital role in anticipating, mitigating and responding to crises. 

He stressed that nations hoping to stay ahead of emerging threats must prioritise technological advancement, capacity building and inter-agency collaboration, as these elements were key to improving situational awareness, expediting decision-making, and protecting national stability.

According to him, rapid and reliable information are often the difference between life and death during emergencies.

Olukolade stated, Whether a crisis occurs in a remote community, an urban commercial hub or across the digital landscape, the survival of affected populations depends on timely and accurate information. 

Effective crisis communication determines how quickly people react to warnings, how institutions coordinate and how society recovers. It is no longer a supporting function but a strategic national security asset.

Olukolade added that yesterdays communication tools were no longer capable of addressing todays emergencies. 

ADC to Tinubu: Withdrawal of Police from VIPs Mere Political Grandstanding 

African Democratic Congress (ADC) dismissed President Bola Tinubus withdrawal of police officers from Very Important Personalities (VIPs) as political grandstanding that would not yield any meaningful results in combating the crisis of insecurity in the country. 

In a statement by its spokesperson, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC said resorting to the same old move confirmed the governments lack of appreciation of the complexity of the security situation in the country and what needed to be done. 

ADC called for a holistic national security strategy that would integrate all security agencies as an all-inclusive counter-insurgency force. 

It said the announcement was never a solution to the security crisis facing the nation.

Abdullahi stated, While the directive makes for good headlines, it is not new and demonstrates the governments lack of understanding of the true nature and complexity of Nigerias worsening security crisis. A country battling terrorism, banditry, mass abductions, and violent crime cannot afford to confuse public relations for policy.

To start with, this is not the first time we are hearing this from the APC government. In 2025 alone, such order has been given twice by the IGP, whom we believe was acting on the directive of the President. But nothing happened. 

The statement added, Nevertheless, even if the president succeeds in relieving the police of VIP duties, we must face the bigger concern that by their training, mentality and orientation, these policemen  are ill-suited and ill-equipped for the desperate emergency that we face. 

Therefore, the dramatic gesture of withdrawing police protection from VIPs may pander to populist sentiment, but it does not address the problem. 

Abdullahi explained that the government claimed the announcement would add 100,000 men to the police. It said while, This may fill some gaps in numerical strength, the real problem is not the number. 

It is the fact that even our military are finding it difficult to cope with the sophistication and adaptability of the insurgents, not to talk of police men who are ill equipped, ill trained and ill motivated for the complex task of counter-insurgency. 

Akinyemi Urges Tinubu to Suspend Military Retirement Rules, Declare Emergency

 Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, called on Tinubu to suspend enforcement of key provisions of the Armed Forces Act 2004, which mandated the retirement of military personnel after 35 years of service or upon reaching the age of 60.

In a strongly-worded public statement, Akinyemi described the regulation as a British-era policy that no longer aligned with Nigerias security realities. He stated that the countrys escalating insecurity required exceptional measures and a rapid expansion of active-duty forces.

The former minister stated that similar retirement rules were temporarily lifted during the Second World War by the British, and, during Nigerias Civil War, in order to bolster troop strength.

He said Nigeria now faced another critical moment that demanded comparable flexibility.

Nigeria urgently needs a strengthened military presence to confront escalating insecurity and safeguard our sovereignty, he stated.

Akinyemi urged Tinubu to recall all officers and soldiers, who retired within the past six months, describing the move as necessary to increase the number of trained personnel available for immediate deployment.

He added that such a recall should be part of a broader strategy to ensure that the armed forces had adequate boots on the ground nationwide.

The statement also called for a nationwide recruitment drive into the armed forces to reinforce security coverage across all states and regions.

Akinyemi stated that a stronger, more widely distributed military presence was essential to restoring public confidence and ensuring territorial control.

He recommended that Tinubu should declare a nationwide emergency and suspend constitutional immunity for governors.

The former minister said any governor under whose watch terrorists or armed groups operated freely and with impunity should be held accountable, adding that states failing to contain insecurity may need to be placed under temporary military administration.

Show Leadership in Tackling Insecurity, former Minister Tasks Tinubu

Former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Chief Nduese Essien, said the federal government under Tinubu had not demonstrated the urgency or clarity required to tackle terrorism in the country. 

In a statement in Uyo, on Monday, Essíen stated that Tinubu was among the loudest critics of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, demanding accountability for every life lost. 

Today, the insecurity he decried has worsened dramatically, yet the leadership he promised has not materialised, Essíen stated.

The former member of House of Representatives stressed that the recent wave of killings, kidnappings, and coordinated terrorist attacks painted the picture of a nation in distress.

According to him, These tragedies are no longer isolated events; they have become daily realities in many parts of Nigeria. The pattern of attacks have been consistent, coordinated, and increasingly brutal and shows that terrorism has grown beyond what any responsible government should tolerate. 

Schools are being shut down, families are afraid to send their children out, farmers have abandoned their fields, and worshippers no longer feel safe in their own sanctuaries. Nigeria is dangerously close to normalising terror.

Equally troubling are the appointments of defence ministers with little or no experience in security or defence operations. 

Essíen said, At a time when Nigeria is fighting highly adaptive terrorist networks, the defence sector must be led by individuals with strategic insight, operational competence, and deep knowledge of security matters.

Allegations that some officials harbour sympathies for terrorist groups or maintain questionable links with them only deepen public anxiety. A nation cannot defeat terror when elements of its security architecture may be compromised.

NARC Offers Solutions to National Security 

Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) expressed commitment to deepening its research portfolio in order to continue providing solutions to national security challenges. NARC said it aimed to achieve this by leveraging academic networking opportunities and expanding the reach of the centre.

The centre also assured the public that it would continue to forge strategic partnerships worldwide to enhance research, development and capacity-building initiatives, which would contribute to national growth and development.

Director-General of NARC, Major-General James Myam (rtd) made the comments yesterday in Abuja, while addressing a press conference to herald its 10th anniversary.

Myam said, Our role in supporting evidence-based policy formulation for the Nigerian military as well as the nation will continue to grow, as will our dedication to professional excellence and innovation. 

He stated that the centres 10th-anniversary celebration was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, November 26, and a range of activities had been lined up to mark the occasion.

He stated, In the past 10 years, the centre has recorded notable accomplishments, including extensive research and the publication of authoritative works on terrorism, insurgency, the Niger Delta agitation, religious and ethnic tensions in Nigeria, and other defence and national security matters.

Myam explained that the centres successes over the past decade had not come without challenges, including the dynamic and evolving nature of security threats, which required critical thinking, extensive research and development, robust stakeholder engagement, and continual adaptation and innovation.

Army Apprehends Suspected Kidnapping Kingpin in Southern Taraba

Troops of 6 Brigade, Nigerian Army/Sector 3, Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), arrested a suspected kidnapping kingpin, Abubakar Bawa, marking a major success in the ongoing Operation Zafin Wuta to restore security in Southern Taraba.

Bawa was apprehended on November 23 while attempting to flee Wukari Local Government Area. 

The arrest came just a day after 6 Brigade troops captured Umar Musa, another notorious kidnapping mastermind operating in the region. 

Preliminary investigation indicated that both men were linked to a larger criminal syndicate responsible for multiple kidnappings, violent attacks, and coordinated criminal activities across Southern Taraba.

In a statement, Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, 6 Brigade, Lieutenant Umar Muhammad, confirmed the suspects capture and highlighted the operation as part of a sustained effort to dismantle criminal networks terrorising local communities.

Brigadier-General Kingsley Chidiebere Uwa, Commander of 6 Brigade/Sector 3 OPWS, commended the troops for their professionalism and operational precision, describing Bawas arrest as a clear indication that Operation Zafin Wuta is achieving its objective of dismantling criminal syndicates and restoring security to affected communities.

Uwa stated that the brigade remained committed to maintaining aggressive clearance operations, stressing that no criminal element will be allowed to escape justice as long as these operations continue at the current momentum.

The army emphasised that the success strengthened its resolve to eliminate criminal threats in Southern Taraba and ensure lasting peace.

Troops under 6 Brigade continued to investigate Bawas network while remaining vigilant in ongoing operations. 

The army also urged residents to provide credible information to support security efforts in the region. 

The suspect is currently in custody and undergoing further interrogation.