Nigeria: Terrorist Attacks Declining, Security Forces Gaining Ground - Defence Minister

What the report says

Nigeria’s defence minister, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), said the country’s security situation has improved, arguing that terrorist groups are no longer carrying out the kind of large, audacious attacks seen in earlier years. According to Leadership, which reported the interview, Musa made the comments on Channels Television’s Politics Today on 4 September 2026 from Abuja.

Musa said military and security operations had intensified against Boko Haram, bandits and other armed groups, pushing troops deeper into militant enclaves. He acknowledged that kidnappings and isolated attacks still happen, but said the scale and frequency of major assaults have fallen. He also said security agencies have rescued hundreds of abducted people in operations that were not always publicly disclosed because of operational sensitivity.

The minister urged Nigerians not to provide food, fuel or other supplies to armed groups, saying such support helps them keep operating. He also said the government is working with international partners to disrupt terrorism financing, including digital channels, and is improving border cooperation with Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin. Musa pointed to Nigeria’s long and difficult borders as a continuing challenge.

He further said the authorities are preparing for security risks around the 2027 elections and that investigations into reported coup-plot allegations involving some military personnel are still under way. Separately, he said terrorism remains hard to eradicate completely because of its ideological dimension.