December 2025: The Giant Strides of Nigeria’s Security and Intelligence Agencies
By Haroon Aremu
December 2025 did not end quietly for Nigeria’s security and anti-corruption institutions. Instead, it closed with a convergence of dramatic rescues, renewed foreign partnerships, internal power debates and high-stakes prosecutions that collectively reshaped the narrative of how the country confronted insecurity and corruption in the final stretch of the year.
Unlike previous Decembers—often marked by unresolved kidnappings, muted enforcement and institutional inertia—the final month of 2025 unfolded with unusual intensity. At the centre of this momentum was the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), under Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, whose actions came to symbolise both the pressures confronting Nigeria’s security architecture and the cautious optimism surrounding its reform trajectory.
The month opened on a tense note with the abduction of students from St. Mary Catholic School in Kotangora, Niger State. The incident immediately revived public fears around mass kidnappings, particularly given the pattern in past years where such cases spilled into the new year unresolved. This time, however, the response was markedly different. Ribadu personally visited the affected area, engaging field commanders, intelligence operatives and local stakeholders while publicly assuring parents of the students’ safe return. Within days, the children were rescued alive and reunited with their families, setting a defining tone for the month.
Security sources later described the operation as the product of sustained intelligence fusion, inter-agency coordination and local community engagement—an operational model increasingly associated with ONSA’s evolving approach. Symbolically, the rescue distinguished December 2025 from earlier year-ends, where success was measured more by promises than outcomes.
As domestic operations intensified, Nigeria simultaneously deepened its external security engagements. The United States, alongside the United Kingdom and France, publicly reaffirmed their support for Nigeria’s counterterrorism and transnational crime efforts. Intelligence-sharing mechanisms were expanded, capacity-building initiatives strengthened and strategic consultations intensified. Unlike earlier years where international assistance appeared largely reactive, December 2025 reflected a more deliberate, structured and forward-looking partnership—signalling renewed confidence in Nigeria’s security leadership and reform direction.
These developments unfolded against the backdrop of mounting public pressure on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rein in persistent insecurity. In response, the President convened a series of emergency security meetings involving service chiefs, intelligence leaders and defence authorities. The outcome was a renewed directive for more aggressive and coordinated operations against banditry, insurgency and organised crime. While insecurity remained unresolved, available operational data suggested that the tempo and decisiveness of responses in December surpassed comparable periods between 2022 and 2024.
Yet progress came with tension. Midway through the month, speculation emerged over alleged plans to replace Ribadu with a retired military officer, reportedly backed by political interests uncomfortable with the ongoing reforms. The rumours triggered swift and unusually public pushback. Civil society actors, security professionals and policy analysts rallied behind Ribadu, warning that abrupt leadership changes could derail fragile institutional gains. The episode once again exposed a recurring fault line in Nigeria’s security debate: civilian-led intelligence coordination versus traditional, heavily militarised approaches to national security.
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Alongside these debates, the defence sector recorded notable operational and leadership developments. Military offensives yielded multiple rescue operations in Borno, Kogi and Kwara States, while arms caches were recovered in Taraba State. In Sokoto, clearance operations led to the neutralisation of bandit elements. In a move widely interpreted as a strategic reset, President Tinubu swore in General Christopher Musa as Defence Minister, reinforcing the administration’s resolve to better integrate strategy, intelligence and battlefield execution.
By the end of the month, official security briefings confirmed that at least 25 kidnapped victims had been rescued through NSA-coordinated operations in December alone—a stark contrast to earlier years when year-end statistics often reflected rising abduction figures rather than recoveries.
The Department of State Services (DSS) also navigated a complex December. While the agency faced criticism over cases of prolonged or wrongful detention, the Director-General intervened to order the release of suspects held without sufficient legal basis. The move drew praise from rights advocates and signalled a measure of internal accountability. Concurrently, the DSS intensified investigations into violent incidents, including attacks on religious institutions, and expanded counterintelligence operations targeting blackmail networks and emerging security threats.
In a moment that underscored the agency’s evolving public profile, the DSS Director-General received an international press freedom award during the month, attracting commendations from President Tinubu and several state governors. The recognition contrasted sharply with earlier years when the agency operated largely outside public acknowledgment, often under criticism rather than commendation.
Meanwhile, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) maintained its characteristic low profile. Within security circles, its quiet posture was widely viewed as deliberate, reflecting the discreet nature of intelligence and counterterrorism work that rarely lends itself to public visibility but remains critical to national security outcomes.
On the anti-corruption front, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) closed the year with unusual force. December was dominated by high-profile arrests, arraignments and legal battles, most notably the prosecution of former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami. Alongside investigations involving former ministers and senior public officials, the commission pursued cases of alleged multi-billion-naira fraud, sealed properties linked to ongoing probes and responded to a surge in petitions from citizens and institutions.
Predictably, accusations of political persecution resurfaced—a familiar refrain in EFCC operations. The commission, however, insisted that its actions were evidence-driven. Compared with previous Decembers, the EFCC’s 2025 close-out was more aggressive, more visible and more consequential, reinforcing its intention to end the year on a note of deterrence rather than discretion.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) adopted a quieter but equally consequential approach. Rather than focusing on arrests, the commission prioritised systemic reform and prevention. In December, it partnered with institutions such as the NYSC and NSCCDC, launched nationwide audits of over 760 road projects, probed allegations of certificate forgery across federal agencies and reported that 89 MDAs lacked functional anti-corruption units. It also disclosed that no federal MDA achieved full ethics compliance in 2025, highlighting deep-rooted governance weaknesses.
Taken together, December 2025 marked a decisive departure from the inertia that has often characterised Nigeria’s year-end security and governance landscape. For ONSA, sustained rescues, reinforced diplomacy and broad stakeholder backing provided a strong closing chapter. For the DSS, EFCC and ICPC, the month underscored a shared resolve to assert authority, test institutional boundaries and signal seriousness.
In a country accustomed to ending the year with uncertainty, December 2025 suggested something different: incremental progress, contested reforms and a cautious optimism that Nigeria’s security and anti-graft institutions may finally be recalibrating their footing.
Haroon Aremu Abiodun is a security commentator and can be reached via: [email protected]
