US Security Alert, Borno Airstrikes: Tinubu, Service Chiefs hold Emergency meeting

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BY BONNY AMADI

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s President Monday held an emergency security meeting at the State House, Abuja, as top military and intelligence officials review recent developments affecting national security.

The meeting, which began at about 2:00 pm on Monday, was attended by service chiefs, intelligence heads and the Inspector General of Police, alongside the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

Those present include the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Staff, the Director General of the Department of State Services, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, and Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu.

The session comes amid growing concern following the United States’ recent authorisation for the voluntary departure of non-emergency embassy staff and family members from Abuja due to what it described as a “deteriorating security situation.”

The US State Department also placed 23 of Nige ria’s 36 states under a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” advisory, including Plateau, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger and Taraba states.

The Nigerian government has maintained that the advisory does not reflect a nationwide security breakdown, with Minister Mohammed Idris saying, “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.”

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.”

Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation into the incident, describing it as evidence of “the Nigerian military’s shocking disregard for the lives of those it supposedly exists to protect.”