President Tinubu held a closed-door meeting with Service Chiefs amid ongoing counterterror and anti-kidnapping operations across Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu held a closed-door meeting with the Service Chiefs at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa on Monday evening, marking his first engagement with the military high command since appointing General Christopher Musa (retd.) as Minister of Defence on December 4, 2025.

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The session began at 6:01 pm local time, with security chiefs arriving at the villa’s forecourt before proceeding to the President’s office. While the official agenda remains undisclosed, the meeting comes amid growing national security concerns, including the ongoing captivity of 115 students abducted from a Catholic boarding school in November and the recent Senate approval for troop deployment to Benin Republic following a foiled coup attempt.

The engagement coincided with a series of Nigerian Air Force operations targeting terrorist hideouts. On December 14, the Air Component of Joint Task Force Operation HADIN KAI conducted precision air interdiction missions at Dabar Masara, a known terrorist logistics hub in the Southern Tumbuns of Borno State.

Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations and Information, confirmed the destruction of vehicles and neutralisation of terrorist elements during the operation.

The Southern Tumbuns, a network of marshlands around Lake Chad, has remained a persistent stronghold for insurgent groups, prompting sustained combined air and ground operations to degrade terrorist capabilities.

Simultaneously, troops of the Joint Task Force Operation Enduring Peace carried out multiple operations in Kaduna and Plateau states between December 11 and 13, 2025. According to JTF spokesman Maj.

Samson Zhakom, the missions resulted in the neutralisation of kidnappers and the rescue of abducted victims.

Operations included clearance missions in Dangoma and Godogodo villages, Jema’a LGA, Kaduna State, neutralising three notorious kidnappers; a covert operation in Plateau State targeting a gunrunner in Bassa and Jos North LGAs; and response to imminent attacks in Zangon Kataf and Jere District, leading to the rescue of hostages and recovery of firearms, ammunition, and cash.

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Major Zhakom reiterated the JTF’s commitment to maintaining pressure on criminal elements, ensuring the safety of citizens, and supporting the federal government’s broader efforts to combat insecurity and dismantle terrorist networks across Nigeria.