President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged the National Assembly to review laws to allow states that require state police to establish them, amid rising kidnappings and bandit attacks.

The President made the call while declaring a nationwide security emergency, directing the Army and Police to recruit additional personnel. The police will recruit 20,000 new officers, bringing the total to 50,000, with NYSC camps to serve as temporary training depots. Officers withdrawn from VIP duties will undergo crash training before deployment to vulnerable areas.

Tinubu also instructed the DSS to deploy trained forest guards against terrorists and bandits, praised recent rescues in Kebbi and Kwara, and called on states and religious institutions to improve security. He urged herders to end open grazing and adopt ranching, while sympathizing with victims of attacks across northern and central Nigeria.

“Those who want to test our resolve should never mistake our restraint for weakness,” Tinubu said, urging Nigerians to remain calm, vigilant, and cooperative with security agencies.