SECURITY forces have tightened surveillance across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Niger State following intelligence of a planned attack on major public facilities, including the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and the correctional centre in the nation’s capital, according to a report by Associated Press (AP).
The report, published on Wednesday, April 15, said the targets also include a military detention facility in Niger State. According to the AP said the information was contained in a memo dated April 13, which it obtained from the Nigeria Customs Service.
The plot, the report noted mirrors a recent assault in Niger Republic, where militants attacked an Air Force base in Niamey earlier this year.
This development comes barely a week after the United States government ordered non-emergency staff and their families at its U.S. Embassy Abuja to leave Nigeria due to the deteriorating security concerns. The travel advisory also designated more than 20 Nigerian states as no-go areas.
The development also coincided with on the ground, observations by The ICIR which show heavy deployment and heightened military presence around the correctional facility in Kuje Area Council, where security operatives have mounted checkpoints, restricted movement, and conducted searches of uncompleted buildings in recent weeks.
Residents told The ICIR that they began retreating into their homes before 6 p.m. following rumours of a curfew in areas such as Wowo Garage, Chibiri, Shadadi, Shetuko and Kango along the Gwagwalada axis. But the alarm on curfew turned out to be false.
Military trucks and armed personnel have also been stationed around key junctions, particularly along routes leading to the prison, forcing commuters to take longer alternative paths.
Although authorities at the time described the deployment as routine protection of critical infrastructure, residents said the presence of armed troops heightened tension across the area.
The renewed alert came against the backdrop of the 2022 attack on the Kuje correctional facility, which led to the escape of 879 inmates, including dozens of suspected extremists.
The attackers, suspected to be members of Boko Haram, reportedly freed 64 of their members held at the facility.
Since the 2022 attack on the facility in Kuje, alongside several others across the nation under the late President Muhammadu Buhari administration, military has been deployed to protect correctional centres in the country.
Sources confirmed to The ICIR that the correctional centre is the first target of terrorists in the nation’s capital, as the country is currently overwhelmed by insecurity, largely orchestrated by terrorists.
Rising attacks heighten fears
The latest alert comes amid a broader surge in attacks by Boko Haram factions and other extremist groups across northern Nigeria in 2026
In recent months, insurgents have stepped up assaults on military bases, particularly in the North-East, killing soldiers and carting away weapons.
Armed groups have also intensified raids on rural communities in Borno and Yobe states, with residents reporting killings, abductions and arsons.
The repeated attacks have displaced several communities and deepened humanitarian concerns in the region.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M