ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal Government of Nigeria announced a renewed security offensive on Thursday, June 4, 2026, to rescue abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State and Borno State.
Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, speaking at a national security briefing in Abuja, said the recent abductions constitute a direct assault on the future of the country and will be met with the full force of the state. Okay News reports that Minister Idris delivered a message from Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, stating, “No child belongs in captivity.”
Minister Idris stated that President Tinubu ordered the activation of a specialized rescue team and approved the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards to strengthen security across vulnerable communities. He added that intelligence gathering, aerial surveillance, community engagement, and coordinated search-and-rescue operations are currently underway in both affected states.
The minister stated that approximately 1,000 terrorists were eliminated in the first quarter of 2026. He cited a joint operation supported by Nigeria and the United States in May 2026 that disrupted logistics networks, eliminated key Islamic State – West Africa Province commanders, and rescued 92 civilians near Buratai. He also noted that troops of Operation Hadin Kai killed over 50 insurgents along the Kirawa-Pulka and Ngoshe corridors in Borno State.
On judicial actions, Minister Idris announced that the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced four terrorists to death for their roles in the 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State. He stated that Nigeria is undertaking a large terrorism prosecution exercise with over 500 suspects facing trial, noting that 508 cases have been prosecuted, resulting in 386 convictions.
Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, challenged the administration to overhaul the counter-terrorism framework of the country. In a statement issued by his senior special assistant on public communication, Phrank Shaibu, Abubakar said, “The terrorists are learning from every attack. They study their successes and failures. They refine their tactics. They identify vulnerabilities. They adapt and strike again. The question Nigerians must ask is simple: Why isn’t the government doing the same?”
Abubakar proposed the establishment of a Terrorism Violence Peer Review Mechanism to allow affected communities and security personnel to share experiences and evaluate response strategies. He also called for the creation of specialized Counter-terrorism Fusion Centres in each of the six geopolitical zones to pool and analyze real-time intelligence from the military, police, and local leaders.
Abubakar criticized the administration for maintaining what he called an opaque approach to the financing of counter-terrorism operations despite trillions of naira budgeted for defence and security over the years. He called on the federal government to constitute a high-level technical committee to review and update the national counter-terrorism policy.
