Tinubu Reveals Why Military Force Alone Can’t Secure North Central

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has stated that it is impossible for a single security agency to handle the insecurity situation in the North-Central region.

He asserted that military action alone cannot bring lasting peace to the region and urged stakeholders to come together and address the factors causing insecurity.

Naija News reports that the President spoke on Monday at the 2026 North Central Regional Security Summit in Makurdi, Benue State.

Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, he called for stronger collaboration among governments, security agencies, traditional and religious institutions, communities, youths, women, development partners, and the private sector to tackle insecurity and restore stability across the region.

He said, “No single agency, no single tier of government, and no single community can secure this region acting alone.

“Insecurity does not respect state boundaries or agency mandates. Criminals move freely across local government areas while our responses are too often slowed by rivalry, duplication and the withholding of information. That must end.”

The President said his administration had strengthened the national security architecture through improved coordination among the Armed Forces, Nigeria Police Force, and intelligence services, while also acquiring new platforms and advanced capabilities for the military.

He said the government was equally rebuilding Nigeria’s indigenous defense industry through the Defense Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) Act and improving the welfare of security personnel to enhance their effectiveness.

Tinubu commended the military and other security agencies for what he described as significant gains against terrorists and criminal elements, including the killing of terrorist commanders, surrender of thousands of fighters, rescue of captives, and restoration of normalcy to several communities

He, however, stressed that military operations could only suppress violence without addressing the grievances and conditions that sustain it.

“Military action alone will not deliver lasting peace to the North Central. Force can suppress violence; it cannot resolve the grievances that produce it,” he said.

He identified competition over land and water, climate change, desertification, unresolved land-use disputes, weak local dispute-resolution mechanisms and the proliferation of illicit weapons as major factors contributing to violent conflicts in the region.

Tinubu said the Federal Government would therefore continue to combine kinetic operations with developmental interventions.