ABUJA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has declared a nationwide security emergency on Wednesday amid increased terrorist attacks and kidnappings in the most populous African country.
In a presidential statement, Tinubu said the police and the army will recruit more personnel in view of the emerging security situation.
The police will recruit an additional 20,000 officers, the president said. "This is a national emergency, and we are responding by deploying more boots on the ground, especially in security-challenged areas."
Tinubu authorized the use of National Youth Service Corps camps as temporary training sites and directed that officers withdrawn from VIP protection units undergo immediate crash retraining before deployment.
He also authorized the country's secret police to immediately deploy trained forest guards and recruit more to "flush out the terrorists and bandits" lurking in the forests, while ensuring that "there will be no more hiding places for agents of evil." ■
