NOA DG SAYS STRONGER COMMUNICATION AND CITIZEN SUPPORT DRIVING NATIONAL GAINS IN SECURITY
The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, says improved communication, citizen support, and the resilience of security agencies are contributing to Nigeria’s ongoing success in the fight against insecurity.
Speaking at the Joint Security Press Briefing for October 2025, held at the NOA headquarters in Abuja with security, defence and intelligence agencies in attendance, Issa-Onilu said the Agency’s intensified national communication framework has reached an estimated 32 million Nigerians in three months.
According to him, trust remains Nigeria’s strongest asset for national security, stressing the need for citizens to continually engage and share verified information rather than misinformation capable of endangering lives. He noted that the Joint Security Communication Framework activated across the 36 states and the FCT contributed to increased public vigilance and improved security outcomes.
Between August and October 2025, the initiative expanded community engagement clusters from 1,050 to 1,460 nationwide, broadcast public-safety enlightenment messages on over 50 radio and TV stations to 29 million people, and reached an additional three million citizens across major social media platforms.
Presenting recent security statistics, Issa-Onilu explained that major suspect arrests rose by 33% from 42 to 56 between September and October, while rescued abducted victims increased from 19 to 27. Fatalities from violent crimes dropped from 210 to 185, representing a 12% decline, even as cross-border interventions also improved within the same period.
He further reported that ICPC and EFCC recorded major anti-corruption recoveries, with part of recovered funds already channelled into national programmes such as the Students Loan Scheme and Consumer Credit Scheme.
Issa-Onilu reaffirmed that the results achieved so far reflect President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing that security, transparency and communication are now working jointly across government structures. He urged Nigerians to continue providing information to security agencies, noting that community intelligence remains a critical tool in countering criminal networks.
