Abuja has promised swift action to free dozens of pupils snatched in recent raids across Oyo and Borno.
Security forces are moving fast. Getting the hostages back safely is now a top government priority, officials say.
Armed groups struck twice within three days. Eighty-two students and teachers vanished in the coordinated assaults.
Borno State saw 42 pupils taken on May 13 and 14. Gunmen hit schools in Askira Uba and Chibok.
Oyo was hit harder the next day. Forty pupils disappeared after attacks on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area.
Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota was targeted. So were Community Grammar School and L.A.
Primary School in Esiele.
The raids cost lives. A mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, died in the crossfire alongside a motorcyclist and a security guard.
Mohammed Idris addressed a security conference in Abuja on Thursday. The Information Minister called the attacks a "direct assault on Nigeria's future."
He said the government approved hiring 1,000 forest guards immediately. These recruits will patrol vulnerable areas and forest zones nationwide.
Security agencies won't release rescue operation details, Idris explained. The sensitivity of ongoing efforts demands secrecy, he noted.
Multiple agencies are now working together on this. The Armed Forces, State Security Service, Police Force, National Intelligence Agency, and the Office of the National Security Adviser are all involved.
Their work spans intelligence work, drone surveillance, and ground searches. Community leaders are also being consulted, officials confirmed.
President Tinubu's administration is taking a fresh approach overall. A broader, intelligence-focused strategy is now driving security reforms across Nigeria.
State policing reform remains central to this plan. Creating more responsive, localized security is what the government aims for.
Military campaigns are showing results in multiple regions. Troops have notched wins against insurgents and criminal gangs from the northeast to the south.
Operation Hadin Kai continues in the northeast. Fighters have killed extremists, freed trapped civilians, and destroyed militant supply chains.
Courts are also busy prosecuting terror suspects. Over 500 accused terrorists are standing trial right now across the country.
Some convictions have already come through. Defendants linked to the June 2022 St.
Francis Catholic Church attack in Owo have faced justice.
International partners are stepping up support. The United States and regional allies share intelligence and provide counterterrorism training to Nigerian forces.
Border security and cyber defense are getting attention too. Cooperation with outside nations is deepening on multiple fronts.
Federal and state governments are coordinating directly. Working together remains essential to solving this crisis.
