President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive security cordon on forests in Kwara State following recent incidents of kidnappings and terrorist activities.

The directive was disclosed on Tuesday in a statement posted on X by the Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication to the President, Sunday Dare.

According to Dare, the President instructed the Nigerian Air Force to expand air surveillance across the innermost parts of the forests in Kwara, where terrorists are believed to be hiding.

He said, “President Tinubu has ordered total security cordon over the forests in Kwara State following recent kidnappings and terrorist activities.

“President Tinubu also directed the Air Force to expand its air surveillance across the innermost parts of the forests in Kwara State, where it is believed the terrorists are hiding. They are to maintain a 24-hour surveillance and link up with the boots on the ground.”

Dare added that the “order equally applies to the Kebbi and Niger States axis, where many are expected to be rescued.

“Communities are also urged to provide timely information about strange movements and activities to aid the work of the security forces,” he said.

Recall that there has been a surge in kidnappings and violent attacks across Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger States, a troubling trend that highlights the growing reach of criminal networks taking advantage of remote forests and ungoverned areas.

The directives follow the recent abduction and subsequent rescue of 38 church members in Eruku, as well as the reported kidnapping of at least 10 residents on Monday evening in Isapa, a neighbouring community in Kwara State’s Ekiti Local Government Area.

In Kebbi, gunmen stormed a girls’ boarding school in Maga on 17 November 2025, abducting 25 students and killing the vice principal.

Days earlier, over 40 women and children were kidnapped from a local farm.

In Niger State, on 21 November, armed men stormed St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwara LGA, abducting more than 300 students and teachers. Fifty students later managed to escape.