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President Bola Tinubu on Monday said terrorists and bandits terrorising Nigerians would be defeated with the efforts of the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu.
Tinubu made the remark while commending Ribadu, whom he describing as “honest, bold, courageous, and committed to the job.”
The commendation came during the President’s visit to Adamawa State, where he expressed confidence in Ribadu’s leadership and dedication to strengthening national security.
“I believe the state of Adamawa is strongly proud of you because I am too,” the President said, reaffirming his administration’s support for the NSA.
President Tinubu also reiterated the Federal Government’s determination to tackle insecurity across the country, stating that under Ribadu’s guidance, Nigeria would overcome banditry and terrorism.
“With you, we will defeat the bandits and terrorists,” he added.
A proposal by a senior Nigerian senator for expanded American military operations in the country’s insurgency-plagued northeast has sparked a fractured national debate, with lawmakers, civil society groups, and regional organizations taking sharply divergent positions even as United States military aircraft landed at Nigerian Air Force bases and offloaded ammunition in what security analysts described as preparations for a coordinated offensive against the Islamic State West Africa Province.
Senator Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South and has spent years calling for more aggressive counterinsurgency action in communities along the Mandara Mountains, endorsed the deployment of U.S. soldiers to his state during a Friday appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He said the partnership represented an opportunity Nigeria had sought for years and should be embraced without hesitation. “The fact that the Americans are now helping us fight insurgency is a welcome development. We have been looking for this support for a long time and have made many efforts to get it, but have failed. Now that we have this window of opportunity, we must utilise it,” Ndume said. He described Boko Haram fighters as having dominated the Mandara Mountain terrain for 15 years, forcing residents to flee farmlands, leaving thousands stranded in internally displaced persons camps, and preventing him personally from visiting his own village for years even under armed escort. He called for sustained, consistent military offensives rather than the intermittent operations that have characterized the campaign.
Ndume clarified that U.S. troops already deployed would not engage insurgents directly. “They are not engaging the enemy themselves. Instead, they are providing technological support and training. Furthermore, they are not operating independently; they are working under the leadership and command of the Nigerian Army,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on February 10 that American and Nigerian officials had confirmed plans to deploy approximately 200 U.S. troops to Nigeria to provide advisory support at various locations. Between February 6 and 14, six U.S. Air Force cargo planes landed in West Africa, all stopping first in Accra, Ghana. Of the five that proceeded to Nigeria, one C-17A aircraft landed at Kainji Airbase while one C-130J-30 and three C-17A aircraft touched down at Maiduguri Airbase in Borno State. Senior officers at the Defence Headquarters confirmed that U.S. military aircraft had delivered ammunition to support security operations in Borno as part of ongoing counterinsurgency collaboration.
Read Also: US Aircraft, Troops Reportedly Land In Maiduguri
The Defence Headquarters said in a statement that all engagements with the United States were conducted with total respect for Nigeria’s sovereignty and within bilateral frameworks. DHQ Director of Defence Information Major General Samaila Uba stressed that the deployment focused on capacity building, professional military education, intelligence sharing, logistics support, and strategic dialogue. “The Armed Forces of Nigeria remain committed to protecting the nation’s territorial integrity,” he said.
In the National Assembly, the proposal divided two senior lawmakers. House Committee on Defence Chairman Babajimi Benson said the substantive question was not numbers of troops but capabilities. “The issue is not additional or fewer numbers, but what role and capabilities they are bringing to support the Armed Forces of Nigeria. At present, we are focused on training and technology enablers that would enhance our capacities to defeat the adversary,” he said, adding: “Would those opposed to such efforts prefer the nation continue to haemorrhage from insecurity, terrorism, banditry, and ceaseless kidnapping?”
House Committee on Air Force Chairman Alhassan Rurum from Kano took a contrary position. “I’m not in support of the American Army deployment to Nigeria. Our Armed Forces are capable of handling our security challenges. We only need to properly fund and provide modern equipment for them,” he said.
The Middle Belt Forum, which represents communities devastated by terrorist attacks across Nigeria’s central states, expressed support for Ndume’s call while urging careful operational planning. Forum President Dr. Bitrus Pogu said intelligence preparation was essential before any expanded foreign troop engagement. “A foreign army will find it very difficult to operate. So, if they are going to do it together with the soldiers or the police on the ground, a lot of study and intelligence must first be made available,” he said, warning that internal compromise within Nigerian security forces posed a particular operational risk
