The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council says President Bola Tinubu’s five-year strategic defence operations plan to tackle insecurity across Nigeria is ready.

In a statement on Sunday, Dele Alake, the spokesman for the party’s campaign, claimed that the military killed more than 15,000 terrorists and bandits in three years. He explained that over 130,000 Boko Haram fighters and their dependents had surrendered.

“The plan provides a long-term framework for aligning defence priorities, operational requirements, capability development, and expenditure with Nigeria’s current and anticipated security challenges,” Mr Alake said.

Mr Alake said the plan was a major component of the administration’s efforts to reposition the country’s security architecture through intelligence-led operations, technology, and preventive measures.

Mr Alake explained that the administration’s approach combines sustained military operations with non-military interventions to address terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities.

“In the last three years, the scale of the administration’s ongoing military operations across the country has led to the elimination of more than 15,000 Boko Haram terrorists and bandits, with more than 130,000 fighters and dependents of Boko Haram having surrendered through Operation Safe Corridor, the federal government’s rehabilitation programme for repentant insurgents,” Mr Alake noted.

He added that the president had approved the establishment of two additional Army depots in Osogbo, Osun State, and Amasiri-Edda, Ebonyi State, to expand military training capacity.

He said each depot could accommodate 6,000 recruits at a time, bringing their combined capacity to 12,000 soldiers.

According to him, 5,210 recruits are currently undergoing training at the Osogbo facility.

Mr Alake also said Mr Tinubu had approved the recruitment of an additional 28,000 soldiers to strengthen the military’s manpower and operational capacity. He also mentioned that the president had approved the recruitment of 50,000 additional police officers to reinforce internal security and improve the country’s response to criminal activities.

According to Mr Alake, the ongoing development of a 700-unit military barracks in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti, is part of efforts to improve personnel welfare and operational effectiveness. He said the project was designed to provide accommodation and essential military infrastructure for personnel.

The statement added that the five-year defence plan would also prioritise intelligence, surveillance and coordination, with investments guided by identified security threats, operational requirements and national priorities.

Mr Alake said the plan was expected to strengthen combat readiness, address critical military capability gaps, optimise available resources and minimise unnecessary expenditure.