President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday met with the service chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Although the reason for the meeting held in the office of the President is yet unknown, it may not be unconnected to the escalating insecurity crisis across the country.

There has been a series of deadly attacks by suspected herdsmen in Benue State and some other parts of the country.

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Director General of the Department Of State Services, Oluwatosin Ajayi, were present at the meeting.

Senator Godswill Akpabio, the President of the Nigerian Senate and the Leader of the Majority, Opeyemi Bamidele, also took part in the meeting.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; and his deputy, Ben Kalu were also spotted at the meeting.

The Senate has set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the alleged annexation of the country’s mangrove islands and maritime territories by the Republic of Cameroon. The committee is expected to report back with necessary recommendations in the next two months.

As part of its resolutions, the Senate has urged President Bola Tinubu to take immediate steps to safeguard Nigeria’s territorial waters, including securing over 2,560 oil wells identified within the disputed mangrove islands in Akwa Ibom State.

The Senate leadership has also committed to engaging directly with President Tinubu to explore diplomatic solutions to the crisis.

Lawmakers during plenary on Tuesday, underpinned the need for urgent action to prevent further escalation of what they described as a “provocation by the Republic of Cameroon”.

Leading the motion under Orders 41 and 51, Senator Aniekan Bassey had raised an alarm over the economic and territorial implications of Cameroon’s encroachment into Nigerian territory.

Senator Bassey said that the affected mangrove islands, located in Efiat, Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, were not part of the territories ceded to Cameroon under the 1913 Anglo-German treaties or the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling of October 2002.

He lamented that Cameroonian security forces, known as the Gendarmes, had imposed foreign laws on Nigerians living in 16 ancestral villages in the affected areas, a situation he described as a “monumental national embarrassment”.

The motion also highlighted that the illegal annexation violates multiple international agreements, with lawmakers advocating for a review of the ICJ judgment and calling for the matter to be reported to the United Nations Convention.

Police authorities in Rivers have arrested two persons over the Trans-Niger Pipeline explosion that rocked the Bodo community of the state and have also begun an investigation into the matter.

The explosion which ripped through the mangrove happened on Monday night but has been put out.

However, the spokesperson of the Rivers State Police Command Grace Iringe-Iroko said some persons have been taken in for questioning over the incident.

“The Rivers State Police Command has commenced a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the fire. In connection with this, two individuals have been taken in for questioning as part of efforts to uncover any potential act of sabotage,” the police spokesperson said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

According to her, security operatives during a night patrol observed the incident which happened at the border of Kpor and Bodo communities, and alerted the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) which operates the pipeline.

“The latter initiated necessary safety protocols, including shutting down the affected pipeline,” Iringe-Iroko said.

“As a result of swift intervention, the situation is now under control, and there is no further threat to residents or the environment.”

Some residents of the area were later seen around the scene of the incident trying to keep watch over the place.

The Minister of Regional Affairs Abubakar Momoh had earlier said details of the incident are sketchy but investigations are ongoing over the explosion.

“Up till this moment, we have not been able to get clear details as to what caused that very explosion but investigations are going on,” the minister said on Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics.

He, however, said “a clear picture” of what happened will be revealed, “in due time”.

The pipeline transports crude to the Bonny Export Terminal in Rivers State.