The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shuaibu, has arrived in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, amid President Bola Tinubu’s directive to security agencies to rescue all abducted persons and eliminate terrorist and bandit camps across the country.

Shuaibu arrived in Maiduguri at about 11am on Saturday, two days after the President issued the directive during a security meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, disclosed the presidential directive after the meeting, saying Tinubu charged security chiefs to intensify efforts to rescue kidnapped victims wherever they might be held.

Musa also said the President directed service chiefs and other security agency heads to ensure a safe environment for Nigerians to participate in the elections scheduled for January.

According to the minister, Tinubu insisted that security agencies must work together to rescue all abducted persons and ensure that no terrorist or bandit camp remained anywhere in Nigeria.

Although it is unclear whether Shuaibu’s visit to Borno is directly connected to the presidential directive, sources indicated that the army chief would meet with theatre, field and unit commanders across the state.

The visit comes amid renewed calls for stronger military operations against insurgents and other criminal groups threatening security in different parts of the country.