By Kingston Magare 12.6.2026
President Bola Tinubu has put the blame of rising cases of criminal violence and kidnapping on the doorsteps of local governments across the country.
The President who addressed Nigerians to mark Democracy Day on Friday, claimed that due to the collapse of the local government structure, insecurity was taking a strong foothold at the grassroots level.
“A fundamental challenge to our nation’s advancement has been ineffective local government administration.
“The insecurity we are addressing is partly due to the collapse of grassroots governance. The Renewed Hope Agenda is about ensuring that all Nigerians benefit from governance,” Tinubu said.
However, he disclosed that his administration will embark upon the recruitment of 50,000 policemen
“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,” Mr. Tinubu stated.
“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.”
He stated that more than 13,000 terrorists had been neutralised in the past year as part of intensified efforts to combat insecurity across the country.
“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 per cent since 2015.
“Over 13,000 terrorists have been neutralised in the past year,” he said.
He said more than 124,000 insurgents and their dependents had laid down their arms since 2023 through the federal government’s Operation Safe Corridor programme.
“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.