Tinubu says 13,000 terrorists killed since 2023, 124,000 surrendered — but abductions still happening?

President Bola Tinubu dropped some numbers during his Democracy Day address today that got me thinking. He said over 13,000 terrorists have been neutralised in the past year, and more than 124,000 insurgents and their dependants have surrendered since 2023 under Operation Safe Corridor. He also claimed terror-related deaths are down by 81% since 2015, which is a big claim.

But here is the thing — just this week we heard about schoolchildren abducted in Oyo and Borno states. Tinubu himself acknowledged this, saying it cast a shadow over Democracy Day. He warned bandits and kidnappers to surrender or face the full force of the state, saying, "These windows of surrender will not remain open forever. No mercy will be shown to those who trade in the blood of Nigerians."

N5.41 trillion allocated to defence and security in the 2026 budget, the highest ever. 50,000 police officers being recruited. But when I look at my village in Edo State, we still hear about kidnappings along the Benin-Auchi road every week. The numbers sound good on paper, but is the security actually reaching ordinary Nigerians?