As a citizen, community leader, and stakeholder deeply invested in the peace, security, and economic stability of our nation, I have closely monitored the recent joint operations conducted by our security agencies regarding the recently abducted students and teachers. The execution of this mission demands public commendation. What we are witnessing is an unprecedented combination of kinetic force and psychological intelligence that decisively corners the enemies of the state.
Reports from the military indicate that advancing troops were attacked but deliberately refrained from returning fire to avoid harming the abductees. Instead, our security architecture utilized a brilliant strategic pivot. The Department of State Services (DSS) executed a swift covert operation across five northern states to apprehend the families of the suspected kidnappers. By filming these family members and transmitting a clear ultimatum—that any harm to the innocent children and teachers would result in severe consequences for the terrorists’ own families—the DSS effectively neutralized the kidnappers’ leverage.
Faced with this psychological pressure, the bandits have no option but to flee or release the captives. However, their escape has been strategically cut off. On the very day of the abduction, the Nigerian Army proactively initiated and completed a fencing clearance surrounding the national park. The kidnappers are now hopelessly trapped within the cordoned zone alongside their victims.
To me, this highly coordinated approach is far superior to the handling of the Chibok Girls’ abduction and the years of unchecked rampage by Boko Haram in the northeast.
To fully understand the magnitude of this victory, we must acknowledge the complex, multi-dimensional nature of the insecurity we face today. As observers of our national trajectory, we are aware that these crises fall into different categories:
Elements who are actively sponsoring unrest to mobilize the masses against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration and his long-term national bid.
Factions directly linked to international terrorist syndicates, specifically ISIS and ISWAP.
Individuals who view insecurity as a lucrative enterprise. These include the criminal syndicates sponsoring terrorists in our bushes to illegally exploit our solid minerals and escape with the nation’s wealth, as well as those conducting kidnapping-for-ransom operations.
Propagandists who believe that pushing unbalanced, negative media reports about the current administration will help them gain international sympathy and secure back-channel access to Aso Rock.
If truth be told, the current government is confronting these multi-headed monsters head-on. President Tinubu’s administration is deploying all necessary state apparatus to fight these criminals without compromise. Furthermore, our security agencies, in active partnership with allied nations such as America, Chad, and others, are systematically working to eliminate these destructive elements from our borders.
While the pain of these security challenges is deeply felt across the country, I remain thoroughly convinced that this phase is temporary. With this renewed synergy of intelligence and force, we will ultimately win the war.
– Aribido David Jayeoba
Ibadan, Nigeria
