Adebayo Folorunsho-Francis, Solomon Odeniyi, Stephen Angbulu, Animasahun Salman, Dare Akogun and Gbenga Odogun
Nigeria’s worsening security crisis deepened at the weekend as bandits launched coordinated attacks across the North, abducting monarchs, worshippers, a bride, students and travellers in a 13-day wave of violence that has claimed at least 490 captives.
The Senate warned that Nigeria must urgently strengthen community-based policing structures, as security agencies struggle to contain the expanding assaults despite President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide security emergency and ongoing military operations.
From Sokoto to Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Borno and the Federal Capital Territory, renewed raids have left rural communities traumatised, with residents fleeing their homes and several victims still unaccounted for.
In Abuja, seven mourners — six girls and a 16-year-old boy — were kidnapped on November 28 at Gidan Bijimi in the Bwari Area Council.
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That same day in Niger State, 24 farm workers, including pregnant women, were seized from Palaita village in Shiroro LGA.
The rampage began on November 18, when 38 worshippers were abducted during a Thanksgiving service in Eruku, Ekiti LGA of Kwara State, with three persons killed.
In Borno, on November 23, ISWAP militants kidnapped 12 teenage girls aged 15–20 from a farm in the Mussa district of Askira/Uba LGA. They were later rescued by security forces.
By November 21, over 315 persons — comprising 303 students and 12 teachers — had been kidnapped from St Mary’s Private Primary and Secondary Schools in Niger State. About 50 were said to have escaped.
On November 25, police confirmed the abduction of 10 persons in a fresh attack on a Kwara community. Five days later, the Kogi State Police Command also confirmed the abduction of two travellers.
The following day, 21 passengers were abducted along a highway in Kogi State, though all were later rescued.
On Sunday, masked men again kidnapped a traditional ruler — the Ojibara of Bayagan in Ifelodun LGA of Kwara State, Oba Kamilu Salami.
In Sokoto, no fewer than 30 women — including a bride, her friends, and visiting wedding guests — were abducted when suspected bandits attacked Chacho community in Wurno LGA in the early hours of Saturday.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers stormed the community, moving from house to house and unleashing panic.
A resident, Hadiyatullahi Tarah, who first raised the alarm on social media, described the attack as “a devastating blow to families preparing for what should have been a joyful celebration.”
According to him, the gunmen also shot one resident, who is now receiving treatment, before abducting the man’s wife. He said the number of kidnapped persons, mostly women, could rise beyond the initial estimate of 30.
“They went away with many women, including the bride and her friends who travelled for the wedding. People are in shock. We pray for their safe return,” he said.
Efforts to obtain official details from the Sokoto State Police Command were unsuccessful, as the Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Rufai, had not responded as of press time.
Similarly, the Kogi State Government confirmed an early Sunday morning attack on a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ejiba, Yagba West LGA.
Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, condemned the attack, saying the gunmen abducted the pastor, his wife and several worshippers.
The Ejiba community was thrown into panic, with residents fleeing for safety.
Fanwo described the incident as “very sad and unfortunate,” noting that preliminary intelligence suggested the attackers had been hiding in the community or nearby bushes for days.
He criticised religious leaders for holding services in isolated locations, especially shortly after similar attacks in neighbouring Kwara State.
In Kwara, abductors of the Ojibara of Bayagan Ile, Oba Kamilu Salami, have demanded N150m ransom. The kidnappers contacted the community early Sunday to announce their demand and to confirm that the monarch was in their custody.
A family source told The PUNCH that the abductors compelled the king to speak directly with his people to verify his captivity.
“The king called the palace on Sunday morning. He told us they are requesting N150 million,” the source said.
The monarch reportedly narrated how the kidnappers moved him on a motorcycle for over five hours through thick forests before arriving at a remote camp.
Salami was abducted on his farm around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, prompting fresh fears over the rise in kidnappings across the state. This incident came days after 10 people, including a pregnant woman and children, were kidnapped in the Isapa community in Ekiti LGA.
When contacted, the Kwara State Police Command spokesperson, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said she had yet to receive full details of the incident.
In Kano, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin on Sunday urged security agencies to intensify operations following fresh bandit attacks in Tsanyawa and Shanono LGAs.
Reacting to Saturday night’s attack in Yankamaye village, Tsanyawa LGA, Barau warned that bandits fleeing military operations in neighbouring states must not be allowed to regroup in Kano communities.
He condemned the killing of a woman and the kidnapping of three others in the area, describing it as one of several similar attacks that occurred in recent days.
Nigeria can overcome terrorism, says Senate chair
Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Insecurity (North-Central and South-South), told The PUNCH that Nigeria does not need to rely on the proposed US military intervention under President Donald Trump to overcome terrorism.
“Nigeria is a sovereign country. It should be able to develop appropriate strategies to solve its problems. America will not solve our problems,” he said.
Moro argued that historical precedents and community efforts show that local solutions are viable, citing instances where communities in his constituency coordinated intelligence, tracked kidnappers and rescued victims.
He advocated stronger roles for local vigilantes, hunters and forest guards, saying they often outperform external forces.
With escalating attacks across Sokoto, Kano, Kogi and Kwara, the Senate renewed calls for a bottom-up security strategy integrating local actors into national operations.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria has condemned the attack on the church in Ejiba, describing it as a “direct affront” to President Tinubu’s recent declaration of a nationwide security emergency.
HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, accused the Federal Government of lacking urgency and strategy, saying terrorists were now “poking their fingers in the eyes of the President.”
He linked the Kogi attack to what he described as the administration’s failure to decisively address mass abductions, citing the November 21 kidnapping of 315 students and teachers in Papiri, Niger State.
He faulted President Tinubu for retaining Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, whom he described as “non-performing” and “too old for the demands of the job,” despite his reaching statutory retirement age, accusing the president of altering the Police Act to extend his tenure.
HURIWA further argued that nepotistic appointments in the military and security agencies had created strategic gaps in the fight against terrorism, contributing to mass killings, rampant kidnappings, and attacks targeting Christians and minority groups.
According to the group, the President lacks the political will to wage a relentless war on terrorists, partly because of alleged compromises linked to his 2027 re-election ambitions.
“The president is yet to prosecute terrorism financiers transparently,” the statement said. “Granting amnesty or so-called reintegration to terrorists is unconstitutional, unjust and fuels further violence. Terrorists do not repent. They must face the full weight of the law.”
Onwubiko handed down a blunt charge to the President: “Tinubu, stop cuddling terrorists. Kill them now.”
Presidency rejects Obasanjo’s advice
Meanwhile, the Presidency has rejected suggestions that Nigeria should hand over internal security to foreign governments, describing such calls as “capitulation.”
Responding to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Presidency defended President Tinubu’s strategies, insisting they are already yielding results.
Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Sunday Dare, wrote on X that portraying the Tinubu administration as unable to protect Nigerians was “ignoble,” insisting that Nigeria is confronting “real terrorists.”
“The suggestion that Nigeria should subcontract its internal security to foreign governments is not statesmanship; it is capitulation,” he said.
Obasanjo had argued in a public event in Jos that Nigerians have a right to seek international help if the government fails in its constitutional duty to protect them.
The Presidency, however, faulted Obasanjo’s comments, accusing him of ignoring the fact that Boko Haram’s ideological foundations and early cells emerged under his administration.
Defending Tinubu’s approach, Dare said the President is confronting “full-spectrum terrorism” through kinetic operations, non-kinetic interventions, and a whole-of-government strategy.
He cautioned that disparaging Nigeria’s capacity hands psychological victories to terrorists.
Security analysts say the spread of attacks across multiple states in the last 13 days underscores the urgency of the Senate’s warnings.
Meanwhile, residents across affected communities continue to plead for rapid intervention, improved surveillance and sustained rescue operations for those still held in captivity.
