Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has claimed that terror-related deaths in the country have reduced by 81 percent since 2015.
Tinubu disclosed this on Friday, in a speech marking Nigeria’s 27th Democracy Day, titled, “DEMOCRACY DAY SPEECH: Our generation must secure prosperity”
The President, while noting that though recent abductions of teachers and schoolchildren in Borno and Oyo States dampened the mood for the year, assured safe return of the victims.
According to Tinubu, security is the bedrock of every democratic society, citing the lion’s share allocated to security in the 2026 budget as a show of commitment by administration to protect lives and property of the populace.
“Though this year’s mood is dampened by the abduction of our children in Oyo and Borno, we remain hopeful for their safe return. Democracy without security is not solid enough. That is why this administration declared a security emergency and approved the recruitment of more than 50,000 new police officers and thousands of military recruits. Our 2026 budget commits N5.41 trillion—our largest ever—to defence and security. Our administration is ever ready to do much more to secure our people,” the speech partly reads.
Continuing, Tinubu noted that Nigeria under his watch has advanced security collaborations with allies from training to precision targeting, reeling out achievements which include reduction in terror-related deaths in Nigeria, degrading of ISWAP command centre, killing of 13,000 terrorists and over 124,000 surrendered.
The President further enjoined bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements to surrender, warning that the windows will not be open forever.
“We have moved from training with our allies, the United States, France and other European countries, to precision targeting. In Arege, Borno State, we degraded ISWAP’s command centre. Terror-related deaths are down by 81% since 2015. Over 13,000 terrorists have been neutralised in the past year. But we also keep the door of surrender open. Over 124,000 fighters and dependents have laid down their arms since 2023 through Operation Safe Corridor.
“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,” Tinubu added.
