President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday held a high-level security meeting behind closed doors with Nigeria’s Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
In attendance were the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla; and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
Although no official briefing was given at the end of the meeting, sources close to the presidency indicated that the talks may have been prompted by the increasing wave of insecurity across parts of the country.
In recent weeks, Nigerian security forces have faced renewed threats from insurgents, particularly in the northern regions.
The strategic meeting also comes on the eve of President Tinubu’s scheduled departure to Rome, where he is expected to participate in the inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV.
According to Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the president “will join global dignitaries and senior Catholic clergy for the solemn mass marking the beginning of the pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV—the 267th Bishop of Rome and new head of the Roman Catholic Church.”
Onanuga confirmed on Thursday that Tinubu had received a formal invitation from the Vatican, delivered through Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The Vatican, he said, emphasized the importance of President Tinubu’s attendance at the ceremony, stating it comes at “a moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and a world plagued by numerous tensions and conflicts.”
President Tinubu is expected to travel with a distinguished delegation, including Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese.
