NIGERIA has slipped into the dangerous territory as terrorists and kidnappers run riot across the nation, leaving President Bola Tinubu scrambling for answers.
Gunmen on Monday kidnapped 25 female students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Kebbi State, shooting the principal.
The late-night attack also left the vice principal, Mr Hassan Yakubu Makuku, dead after he reportedly tried shielding the students from the attackers. “It is a heartbreaking tragedy that has thrown the entire region into deep fear and mourning,” said a resident, Ms Murjanatu Hassan Gishiri, who confirmed the incident.
Vice President Kashim Shettima visited the families of the abducted students on Wednesday, saying President Tinubu “is deeply troubled” by the attack and had directed security agencies to do everything possible to rescue them.
The same day, terrorists kidnapped Fr. Bobbo Paschal from St. Stephen Parish of Kaduna Catholic Archdiocese, where he serves as Parish Priest. “During the attack, many others were abducted, and the brother of Fr. Anthony Yero was killed,” said Chancellor of the Nigerian Metropolitan See, Fr. Christian Okewu Emmanuel.
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On Tuesday, no fewer than five persons were killed and several others abducted after terrorists attacked Eruku, a boundary town with Kogi State, in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State.
Gunmen also attacked a church in the town in the evening of the same day, killing at least two people and kidnapping the pastor and some worshippers. The attack has amplified the claim by United States lawmakers and President Donald Trump that a Christian genocide is going on in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s president also confirmed that Brig. Gen. Musa Uba was killed by a terrorist group while in captivity, days after he was kidnapped by ISWAP militants in Borno State. The attack had also claimed the lives of four other soldiers.
In spite of reports that Gen Uba had been killed and an earlier image showing him in ISWAP captivity, the Nigerian Army claimed he was alive – until President Tinubu clearedthe air.
Earlier on Saturday, terrorists had killed three persons and abducted at least 64 others at Fegin Baza village in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State. The incident happened a day after Minister of State for Defence and former governor of the state, Mr Bello Mohammed Matawalle, visited the state and claimed that the Defence Headquarters had deployed fresh troops, according to Daily Trust.
The rising kidnap industry
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released a crime report on December 17, 2024, which it later removed from its website days after the reported invitation of its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Adeyemi Adeniran, by the State Security Service (SSS).
But the report had disclosed that Nigerians paid an estimated N2.3 trillion as ransom between May 2023 and April 2024, noting that 65 percent of households affected by kidnapping had to pay ransoms to secure the release of victims. On average, each household paid N2.67 million per incident.
The report further revealed that 51,887,032 crime incidences were experienced by households, with the North-West having 14,402,254 reported cases – highest in the country at the time.
Nigeria in danger zone
A social security expert, Dr Ben Agbese, said President Bola Tinubu must change his security strategy, alleging that “it is not working.”
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“The duty of the government is to secure the people. Any government that can’t perform this role has failed,” he noted,
He said Nigeria was now in a “danger zone” where citizens and foreigners cannot spend time in some parts of the country without being kidnapped or killed.
An Abuja-based security analyst, who pleaded anonymity for safety reasons, said President Tinubu had failed to secure Nigeria like his predecessor, late Muhammadu Buhari.
“We are in a very bad place,” he said. “Right now, terrorism is spreading, yet we think the best thing to do is to deny the obvious or reject United States’ assistance. We need a new security architecture that would place emphasis on intelligence than numbers.
“We must stop negotiating with terrorists and begin fresh peace dialogues among communities in Nigeria.”
