President Bola Tinubu has said that terror-related deaths in Nigeria have declined by 81 percent since 2015, attributing the improvement to intensified security operations and stronger collaboration with international partners.
The President made the statement on Friday during his 2026 Democracy Day address titled “Our Generation Must Secure Prosperity.”
Despite the reported gains, Tinubu acknowledged that the recent abduction of teachers and schoolchildren in Borno and Oyo states had cast a shadow over the celebration. He expressed optimism that the victims would be rescued safely.
Emphasising that security remains the foundation of democracy, the President said his administration had declared a security emergency, approved the recruitment of more than 50,000 police officers and thousands of military personnel, and allocated ₦5.41 trillion to defence and security in the 2026 budget—the largest security allocation in the country’s history.
Tinubu also highlighted improvements in Nigeria’s counter-terrorism strategy, saying the country had moved beyond basic training with allies such as the United States, France and other European nations to precision-targeted operations. He cited the successful degradation of an ISWAP command centre in Arege, Borno State, as one of the achievements.
According to him, more than 13,000 terrorists have been neutralised in the past year, while over 124,000 fighters and their dependents have surrendered through Operation Safe Corridor since 2023.