ABUJA — President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians to avoid ethnic profiling and blame games in the fight against insecurity, insisting that crime has no ethnicity and the country must remain united to defeat terrorism and criminality.
Speaking on national security, in his Democracy Day address, Tinubu said Nigeria has significantly upgraded its military operations, moving from joint training exercises with allies such as the United States, France and other European countries to precision-based targeting of terrorist networks.
He disclosed that in Arege, Borno State, security forces successfully degraded the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) command structure as part of ongoing counter-terrorism operations.
According to the President, terror-related deaths in the country have dropped by 81 per cent since 2015, while over 13,000 terrorists were neutralised in the past year alone.
Tinubu also highlighted what he described as major gains in the government’s surrender and rehabilitation framework, noting that more than 124,000 fighters and their dependents have laid down their arms since 2023 under Operation Safe Corridor.
Despite these gains, he said the Federal Government is maintaining an open window for surrender, while warning that it would not last indefinitely.
“To bandits, kidnappers, and sponsors of terror: Surrender or face the full force of the Nigerian State. These windows of surrender will not remain open forever. No mercy will be shown to those who trade in the blood of Nigerians,” he said.
The President urged Nigerians to remain united and avoid divisions, stressing that criminality should not be linked to any ethnic group.
“At a time like this, let us not assign blame or point fingers. Crime has no ethnicity,” he said.
Tinubu expressed optimism that ongoing security operations, combined with national unity, would ultimately defeat terrorism and restore lasting peace across the country.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to building a safer and more prosperous nation, saying Nigeria will continue to strengthen its security architecture while pursuing peace-building and reintegration efforts for repentant fighters.
