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President Bola Tinubu on Thursday held a closed-door meeting with security chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, over the prevailing security situation ravaging the country.
The meeting is said to be a comprehensive review of the security situation in the country, as well as across several theatres of operation.
Those at the meeting are the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede; and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lieutenant General Emmanuel Undiandeye.
Others include the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Adeola Ajayi; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed; Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (retd); and the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunde Disu, along with other representatives of the security agencies.
The meeting came 48 hours after troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA, supported by the Air Component of the Joint Task Force (North West), disrupted what the military described as a major planned terrorist offensive in Zamfara and Katsina states.
In a July 7 operation, three Nigerian Air Force aircraft tracked a convoy of approximately 300 heavily armed terrorists on motorcycles moving from the Sunke-Kumbo axis toward Gummi and conducted precision airstrikes on the formation.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency forecast widespread rainfall and thunderstorms across most of the country for Thursday, warning of localized flooding in low-lying areas spanning the north, center, and south.
NiMet issued the outlook in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, describing a day of shifting conditions as storm systems move through three broad regions in sequence, from northern states in the morning to central and southern states later in the day.
In the north, the agency projected patches of cloud cover Thursday morning, with thunderstorms and light rainfall possible over Gombe, Bauchi, Kaduna, Adamawa, and Taraba states. NiMet flagged the risk of localized flooding in some of these areas and advised residents and stakeholders to take precautions. By afternoon and evening, the forecast broadens: isolated thunderstorms carrying moderate rainfall are expected across Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa, Borno, and Taraba states, with lightning and occasional strong winds accompanying the storms.
The North Central region follows a similar morning-to-evening progression. NiMet forecast thunderstorms with light rainfall in the morning, intensifying into more widespread thunderstorms and moderate rainfall later across Niger, Kwara, Benue, Kogi, Plateau, Nasarawa, and the Federal Capital Territory. The agency warned that localized flooding and reduced visibility could occur in parts of this region as well.
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Southern states face a comparable pattern on a delay: rainfall is expected in Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, and Ekiti during the morning, with moderate rainfall spreading across most of the region by afternoon and evening. NiMet said the prolonged wet conditions could produce localized flooding, particularly in low-lying and poorly drained areas — a recurring vulnerability in parts of southern Nigeria’s coastal and riverine terrain during the rainy season.
Beyond the region-by-region breakdown, NiMet issued a set of standing safety advisories tied to the forecast. It told residents to expect strong winds ahead of thunderstorms and urged motorists to drive cautiously during rainfall and periods of poor visibility. The agency also warned against walking or driving through floodwaters, and advised against sheltering under tall trees during thunderstorms because of the risk of lightning strikes. Separately, NiMet urged airline operators to obtain airport-specific weather reports from the agency to support safe and efficient flight operations, a routine directive given the aviation sector’s sensitivity to sudden storm activity and reduced visibility.
