By our reporter 10.2.2026
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, has said the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) needs be strengthened if the country is to win the war against terror and insurgency.
Oluyede who was speaking on Tuesday during the 2025 budget appraisal and defence of the 2026 budget proposal at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, said the army may have the capacity to clear the terror gangs ravaging the country, but the police and civil defence need to secure the areas that have been cleared.
“The soldiers hardly have rest because we don’t have the numbers. Recruiting more personnel comes with other challenges, housing, logistics, and welfare. That is why strengthening the police and civil defence is critical. They have more men and better reach to fill the gaps after military operations,” Oluyede said.
“If these institutions are strengthened, they can effectively hold and secure territories where the Armed Forces have succeeded, ensuring that such areas remain safe.”
He also assured Nigerians that renewed efforts were underway to address lingering threats in the Middle Belt, particularly in Benue and Plateau states, by taking the fight directly to insurgents’ hideouts.
“We are doing everything within our capacity to ensure that Nigeria becomes safer. As we speak, the situation has improved significantly in the North-East.
“In the North-West, we still face serious challenges, and the same applies to parts of the North-Central, including Benue, Plateau, and even Kwara. But we are evolving modalities to address these challenges within the resources available to us,” Oluyede said.
Earlier, Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Rep. Babajimi Benson (APC, Lagos), acknowledged the gains made by the Armed Forces and other security agencies but stressed that sustainable peace requires complementary non-kinetic strategies.
“The defence and security sector occupies a central place in Nigeria’s development discourse. No nation can make sustainable progress without guaranteeing the safety of lives, property, and critical national assets,” he said.