We Have Approached Turkey for Assistance – Tinubu

Nigeria has sought assistance from Turkey to address the security challenges facing the country, President Bola Tinubu disclosed on Friday.

“We have approached Turkey for assistance,” Tinubu said during a meeting with a delegation of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at his Lagos residence, according to a statement from his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga.

Tinubu said Nigeria was dealing with vast “ungoverned spaces” and constraints in acquiring military equipment, noting that defence hardware was costly and not readily available.

“The mood of the nation is peaceful, although our ungoverned spaces are so large. The challenge is real, but we will surmount it,” Tinubu said.

“We are very religious. We are prayer warriors. We need your focus, vigilance, and cooperation.”

The president called on CAN to work with his administration to achieve the nation’s collective aspirations, stating that some of the measures taken by his administration needed some time to mature.

Tinubu said plans to introduce community and state policing were progressing but depended on legislative action, noting the constraints in military procurement and describing defence hardware as costly and difficult to replace.

” Community and State Police will be a reality once the National Assembly completes the required legislative inputs; Military hardware is difficult to replace. It is expensive and not available off the shelf.”

The president added that Nigeria was awaiting delivery of attack helicopters ordered from the United States of America and had turned to Turkey for support in the interim.

“Our orders for four attack helicopters from the United States of America will take some time to arrive… We have approached Turkey for assistance.”

However, the President claimed that the public’s perception of the administration’s dedication to resolving the security issues was being impacted by the delays.

He claimed that despite the bandits’ and insurgents’ guerrilla tactics, the government was not giving up on bringing peace and prosperity back to the country.

President Tinubu urged everyone to exercise caution in response to the recent kidnapping and release of schoolchildren in the states of Niger and Kebbi, saying that “the rhetoric on how the children were released or what happened to the kidnappers is secondary; the end justifies the means.”

Earlier on Friday, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, urged citizens to remain calm and vigilant after coordinated air strikes targeted ISIS positions in the northwest, with authorities saying “decisive actions continue against all terrorist groups threatening the nation.”

The call followed an announcement by US President Donald Trump, who said American forces had carried out “powerful and deadly” strikes against Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria.

Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs later confirmed the operation, saying the country remained engaged in “structured security cooperation with international partners, including the United States of America,” to counter terrorism and violent extremism.