Nigeria’s escalating security challenges took centre stage yesterday as President Bola Tinubu and French President Emmanuel Macron held high-level discussions, while a United States fact-finding team arrived in Abuja for security consultations with National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Punch reports.
Macron, in a statement shared on X, expressed France’s solidarity with Nigeria amid rising terrorist attacks, kidnappings and targeted assaults across the northern region.
He added that France would strengthen its security partnership with Nigeria, especially in areas affecting vulnerable communities.
“At President Tinubu’s request, we will deepen cooperation and support affected populations,” Macron wrote, urging international partners to “step up their engagement” as violence spreads.
The renewed diplomacy comes on the heels of intensified international scrutiny, driven partly by US President Donald Trump’s recent claims of Christian persecution in Nigeria — allegations the Federal Government strongly denies.
The US delegation in Abuja, led by the American ambassador and congressional officials, met Ribadu as part of ongoing consultations following earlier discussions in Washington.
Ribadu, confirming the meeting on X, said talks focused on counter-terrorism cooperation, regional stability and strengthening the Nigeria-US security partnership.
Congressional representative Riley Moore also disclosed that he concluded what he described as a “very productive visit,” though he provided no details of his meetings.
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Meanwhile, senior US officials — including the Assistant Secretary of State and Ambassador Richard Mills — visited Benue State, where they held private sessions with Governor Hyacinth Alia, Catholic bishops and the Tor Tiv, HRM Prof. James Ayatse.
The visit, though officially undisclosed, is widely believed to be linked to ongoing US concerns about religious violence.
While the Benue government denied allegations of genocide, community leaders insist that persistent attacks amount to targeted ethnic and religious violence. They criticised state officials for not taking the US delegation to Yelwata and neighbouring IDP camps, where hundreds have been displaced by serial attacks.
Amid the diplomatic engagements, unconfirmed reports emerged on Sunday that 100 of the more than 300 students abducted from St. Mary’s Private Catholic School in Niger State had been released. Authorities have not yet issued an official statement.
The kidnapping—one of the largest in recent years—triggered nationwide outrage and prompted the Federal Government to shut down schools in Niger and several northern states.
Former presidential aspirant Gbenga Hashim also weighed in on the crisis, urging northern political elites to accept responsibility for decades of governance failures that have created fertile ground for extremism.
He called the appointment of the new Defence Minister, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), a critical opportunity that “must deliver immediate results.”
At a separate event in Kaduna, political scientist Prof. Abubakar Siddique warned that the North’s deepening poverty, rising school drop-out rates and worsening insecurity were eroding national stability.
He described a “poverty–insecurity trap” driving mass unemployment, displacement and extremist recruitment.
The warnings came during the General Hassan Katsina Memorial Conference, where retired military leaders celebrated Katsina’s legacy and called for reforms capable of restoring stability to the region.
As Nigeria contends with rising attacks, mass abductions and mounting international concern, the coming weeks are expected to test the Tinubu administration’s promises of swift action following its recent declaration of a nationwide security emergency.
