ABUJA — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has summoned an emergency meeting of the National Security Council to coordinate a comprehensive national response to the worsening school abductions crisis. Channels Television confirmed the convening of the emergency council on Friday, June 5.
The emergency meeting follows mounting pressure from the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Nigerian Union of Teachers, and state assemblies demanding concrete government action. The NLC has backed a teachers strike. CAN has declared June 14 a Black Sunday of mourning. Oyo lawmakers have rejected any form of negotiation with kidnappers.
Tinubu told council members that the abduction of schoolchildren is a direct attack on Nigeria’s future and will not be allowed to continue without a decisive and coordinated response. He said all security agencies must align their operations and share intelligence more effectively.
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What the Council Agreed
The National Security Council agreed on a package of emergency measures. These include accelerated deployment of the 1,000 newly approved Forest Guards, expanded surveillance drones over high-risk school corridors, immediate intelligence sharing between DSS, the Army, and Amotekun Corps, and a dedicated rescue operations command for all active abduction cases.
The council also directed the Inspector-General of Police to create a dedicated School Safety Unit that will work exclusively on preventing and responding to attacks on educational institutions. The unit will have direct lines to state commands and will be resourced separately from the general police budget.
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Civil society groups said the emergency council meeting is a positive step but demanded that Tinubu establish public accountability mechanisms. They said Nigerians need regular updates on the progress of rescue operations, not just announcements of new security measures that disappear from public view weeks after they are declared.
