President Bola Tinubu held a late-night meeting on Friday with the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Tosin Adeola Ajayi, as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to address the rising wave of student kidnappings across the country.
The meeting, which took place at the Presidential Villa, focused on ongoing security operations and new strategies aimed at locating and rescuing hundreds of abducted schoolchildren.
Photographs released after the session showed the DSS chief in the President’s office, where he reportedly delivered a detailed briefing on the security situation nationwide.
Although the Presidency has not issued an official statement, a senior government official familiar with the discussion confirmed that the talks centred on coordinated rescue efforts and the deployment of enhanced intelligence measures to track the kidnappers.
According to the official, the Federal Government is finalising plans for a new joint task force that will include personnel from the military, police, DSS, and other security agencies.
The initiative is expected to strengthen intelligence gathering, improve surveillance capabilities, and support rapid-response operations in states repeatedly targeted by armed groups.
The move comes as insecurity worsens across the North-West and North-Central regions.
Earlier in the week, armed men attacked Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, abducting at least 26 students during an early-morning raid that also left two residents dead.
Days later, gunmen invaded St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, kidnapping more than 303 children and 12 teachers one of the largest mass abductions recorded this year.
In a separate incident, worshippers at the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, were ambushed during a church service.
Two people were killed and 38 others abducted.
Responding to the escalating crisis, President Tinubu on Thursday directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to relocate to Kebbi State and remain there until significant progress is made in the search for the missing schoolgirls.
The President has also continued to receive round-the-clock updates from service chiefs and intelligence heads.
A presidency insider described the meeting with the DSS Director-General as the start of an intensified, multi-layered rescue mission.
The planned joint task force, the source added, will operate across multiple states at the same time to prevent delays that could affect the safe recovery of the kidnapped students.
According to the official, the government is determined not to “waste the window for rescuing the children alive.”
When contacted for clarification on the formation of the task force, the President’s media adviser said the plan was “possible,” but declined to provide further details.
Meanwhile, security formations in affected states have increased patrols, widened surveillance operations, and intensified community engagement.
Local government authorities have also been instructed to support federal operations with intelligence and logistics.
In a related development, Vice President Kashim Shettima visited Kebbi State earlier in the week, where he met with community leaders and families of the abducted girls.
He assured them that the Federal Government would not relent until every child is found and safely returned.
