President Bola Tinubu on Monday convened an emergency security meeting with top military and intelligence officials at Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, following a devastating airstrike in Borno State and a recent U.S. security alert.
The closed-door session was attended by the Chief of Defence Staff General Olufemi Oluyede; Army Chief Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu; Naval Chief Vice Admiral Idi Abbas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Anele;
Also present were the Director-General, Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi; Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, NIA, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed; Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu; National Security Adviser, NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; and other key officials.
Though details of the meeting are yet to be ascertained, it follows a stark US State Department advisory on April 8, authorizing voluntary departure of non-essential embassy staff and families from Abuja amid a “deteriorating security situation.”
The US State Department also placed 23 of Nigeria’s 36 states under a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” advisory, including Plateau, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger and Taraba states.
It also temporarily stopped Abuja visa services but the Lagos office was not affected.
But the Nigeria’s government brushed it off as routine US protocol.
The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris insisted no nationwide law-and-order collapse exists, with most areas stable despite isolated incidents.
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“While we acknowledge isolated security challenges in some areas, there is no general breakdown of law and order, and the vast majority of the country remains stable,” he stated.
The meeting is also taking place in the aftermath of a Nigerian Air Force operation targeting Boko Haram fighters that reportedly hit Jilli Market along the Borno-Yobe border on April 11, 2026, killing over 100 civilians, including children.
The Air Force said it conducted “precision mop-up airstrikes on identified terrorist locations,” without confirming any civilian casualties at the market.
However, Presidential aide Temitope Ajayi defended the operation, saying, “The market was a legitimate military target because it has been turned into a logistics and trading hub by Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists.”
