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.
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.
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.
Fresh concerns have emerged over compliance with a court order issued by the High Court of Kano State on April 8, 2026, restraining key parties—including the Honourable Minister of Education, the Kano State Ministry of Land and Physical Planning, the Kano State Urban Development Authority, and Pluck Global Company Limited—from further actions pending the determination of the matter before the court.
Findings indicate that while all parties—except the concessionaire, Pluck Global Company Limited—were duly served within two days of the order, significant challenges were encountered in effecting service on the company, raising troubling questions about its corporate traceability and regulatory vetting.
A review of the company’s records filed with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) revealed addresses that could not be verified as functional business locations. Notably, documentation submitted to Federal Government College (FGC), Kano, dated June 20, 2024, listed two addresses: 8B, Lalupon Street, off Keffi Street, off Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, as its head office, and 3 Bargery Road, Bompai, Kano, as its branch office.
However, a physical visit to the Ikoyi address revealed that the entire property is occupied by a company identified as Golden Alchemy, whose staff категорically denied any knowledge of, or shared occupancy with, Pluck Global Company Limited.
Efforts to trace the Kano address yielded even more unsettling findings. The location—a locked duplex—showed no visible signs of commercial activity. Neighbours, while reluctant to speak on record, alluded to irregular movements at odd hours, casting further doubt on the legitimacy of the premises as a corporate office.
In a twist, after multiple attempts to establish contact, an individual purportedly representing the company surfaced in Kano and agreed to receive and acknowledge the court order on April 11, 2026, at approximately 6:00 pm. Curiously, the Ikoyi address—already discredited—was again listed as the company’s official address in the acknowledgment.
These developments raise critical questions regarding due diligence and Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols on the part of the Federal Ministry of Education. They also cast a spotlight on the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), should a concession agreement indeed have been executed with the company. Stakeholders say it would be instructive to review the addresses contained in all official correspondences and contractual documents linked to the transaction.
Meanwhile, a visit to the premises of Federal Government College, Kano, revealed ongoing construction activity, with workers observed excavating foundations. When approached, the workers declined to disclose the authority under which they were operating—despite the subsistence of a court order restraining further action.
Notably, a previously installed project billboard bearing the insignia of the school authorities and the Federal Ministry of Education had been removed. Sources within the institution suggest that the directive for its removal may have emanated from the Ministry following receipt of the court order.
The unfolding situation presents a complex mix of legal, regulatory, and accountability issues—raising the spectre of possible non-compliance with judicial directives, as well as deeper concerns about transparency in public-private concession arrangements.
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