National Security Adviser (NSA) Malam Nuhu Ribadu has described Operation Fansan Yamma as a key framework for coordinating security operations across the North-West.

Ribadu made the remarks yesterday in Sokoto at a security brainstorming session organised by the Sokoto Advancement Forum (SAF). He was represented by Zakari Usman Mijinyawa, Director of Legal Services at the Office of the NSA.

He said banditry in Sokoto had evolved beyond cattle rustling and kidnapping into a complex threat with transnational links, including links to Lakurawa.

Ribadu outlined five priorities for tackling the security challenges: intelligence-led operations; inter-agency and cross-border cooperation; stronger community trust and early-warning systems; restoring agricultural livelihoods; and preventing criminal recruitment.

He said the Federal Government, under President Bola Tinubu, was strengthening military operations, intelligence gathering, border security and law enforcement through coordinated efforts involving security agencies, state governments and local communities.

Ribadu added that the National Crisis Management Doctrine, being advanced by the Office of the NSA, provides a framework for coordinated action by government and society.

He called for sustained security deployments around vulnerable settlements, forest corridors and border communities. He also urged traditional rulers, religious scholars, women and youth groups to build public trust, counter extremist narratives and misinformation, and discourage ethnic hostility.

The NSA advocated cross-border intelligence-sharing to deny criminal groups safe havens and called for stronger cooperation among the armed forces, intelligence agencies, police and civil defence.

He stressed the importance of early-warning systems linking local governments, traditional rulers and communities in hotspots, including Sabon Birni, Isa, Tangaza and Goronyo. He identified State Forest Guards and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Agro-Rangers as important partners in securing vulnerable areas.

Ribadu also emphasised professional policing, impartial law enforcement and respect for human rights. He said security planners should prioritise the protection of farms, rural routes, markets, schools and health facilities, while taking agricultural calendars into account.

He added that improving access to education, vocational training and livelihood opportunities was essential to preventing recruitment into criminal groups.

Any disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme, he said, must comply with the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 Reintegration, he stressed, must not replace justice or reward violence.

Ribadu said the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons had recovered 5,449 firearms and destroyed 1,419 illicit weapons in recent nationwide operations. Cumulative destruction since 2022, he added, had exceeded 19,000 weapons.