By Our Reporter
President Bola Tinubu’s Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan to tackle insecurity across Nigeria is ready, as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to strengthen the country’s security architecture and improve military effectiveness.
The plan, according to the Spokesperson of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, is designed to provide a long-term framework for aligning defence priorities, operational requirements, capability development and expenditure with Nigeria’s current and anticipated security challenges.
Alake disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, November 15, 2026, noting that the initiative reflects Tinubu’s determination to reposition the nation’s security system towards a more coordinated, intelligence-led, technology-enabled and prevention-oriented approach to tackling terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities.
He said military operations conducted across the country in the last three years had resulted in the elimination of more than 15,000 Boko Haram terrorists and bandits, while over 130,000 Boko Haram fighters and their dependents had surrendered through Operation Safe Corridor, the Federal Government’s rehabilitation programme for repentant insurgents.
According to him, the figures demonstrate the administration’s two-pronged strategy of sustained military operations and non-kinetic interventions to address insecurity.
As part of efforts to expand the Nigerian Army’s operational capacity, Alake said Tinubu had established four new Army divisions and restructured existing military formations to improve operational coverage, decentralise military operations and enable troops to respond more swiftly to security threats.
He added that the President had approved the establishment of two additional Army depots in Osogbo, Osun State, and Amasiri-Edda, Ebonyi State, to expand military training capacity and accelerate the recruitment and training of soldiers.
The two facilities, he said, have a combined capacity to train 12,000 recruits at a time, with each accommodating 6,000 soldiers.
The Osogbo facility is already training 5,210 recruits, according to the statement.
Alake said the expansion of the training facilities was expected to reduce recruitment turnaround time and increase the number of soldiers available for deployment.
He further disclosed that Tinubu had approved the recruitment of an additional 28,000 soldiers to strengthen military presence and enhance operational effectiveness.
The President had also approved the recruitment of 50,000 additional police officers as part of broader efforts to reinforce internal security, improve policing capacity and strengthen the country’s response to criminal activities.
On personnel welfare and operational infrastructure, the statement highlighted the construction of a 700-unit military barracks in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, to provide accommodation and essential facilities for military personnel.
According to Alake, the project is expected to provide a conducive living and working environment for personnel while strengthening the military’s capacity to maintain an effective presence in the area.
He said the measures were aimed at addressing manpower and infrastructure gaps, improving the capacity of security agencies and ensuring that personnel were adequately trained, equipped and deployed to areas facing security challenges.
On intelligence, surveillance and coordination, Alake said the Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan would ensure that investments in the security sector were guided by clearly identified threats, operational requirements and national priorities.
He added that the plan was expected to strengthen combat readiness, address critical capability gaps, optimise available resources and minimise unnecessary expenditure and wastage.
