President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, last week Wednesday, declared a nationwide security emergency in response to the escalating wave of kidnapping, banditry, and terrorist attacks in most parts of the country. The declaration involves several directives aimed at bolstering the country’s security architecture in a bid to save the nation from the hands of marauding terrorists. He ordered the Army, Police, and intelligence services to immediately expand recruitment and deploy thousands of additional personnel to the field.
The Police and Army have been directed to recruit 20,000 additional men. Tinubu also directed the Department of State Services to deploy all trained forest guards into the field and in his words ‘’flush out the terrorists and bandits lurking in our forests.” He also stated that the agency has presidential approval to recruit even more personnel, reiterating that his administration’s creation of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, was a bold move in solving the frequent farmers/herders clashes and urged herder associations to take advantage of the Ministry’s programmes, abandon open grazing, as well as arms-bearing.
He did not stop at that, as he also urged the National Assembly to initiate the process of legalizing State Police to tackle the escalating wave of kidnappings and terrorist attacks across the country. The emergency declaration, which though came late in the day, could reset the nation’s attempt at taking back the country from the clutches of terrorists, if only our leaders won’t approve negotiating with terrorists as a state policy. The nation has been bleeding in the last two decades due to the activities of bandits and kidnappers, but as it is typical of us in this part of the world, we are less bothered with the state of things provided we are not directly affected.
Thanks or no thanks to the uncomplimentary remarks from the American President, Donald Trump, describing the country as a ‘’disgraced nation’’ as well as tagging Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), it has jolted the Commander-In-Chief of our country out of his deep slumber. Again, the spate of kidnapping and banditry recorded in the country in the last few weeks was another impetus for the President to consider taking drastic actions against the enemies of our collective peace. Or perhaps, it was the threat by the terrorists themselves that they could get the Commander-In-Chief if they so wished.
Since President Bola Tinubu took office, Amnesty International has documented 10,217 Nigerian deaths at the hands of armed groups, with Benue accounting for 6,896 victims, and Plateau, for 2,630. A single night in Yelwata, Benue (June 13-14, 2025), saw gunmen kill more than a hundred people, torch homes and displace thousands, yet no decisive government action has followed.
The latest onslaught began on November 17, when Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, was attacked during which 24 students were kidnapped. The nation was yet to recover from the trauma of the onslaught when, just four days after, another set of bandits stormed the St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, in Agwara LGA of Niger State, abducting over 300 pupils and 12 teachers. During the Kebbi attack, the Vice Principal, Hasan Makuku, was shot dead, while the principal was injured. About 50 girls later escaped, but the rest are still with their captors. Another gang invaded a CAC church in Kwara State, killing at least two worshippers and abducting 38 people. The spate of abductions led to the rash decision by State Governors to close scores of schools in Kebbi, Bauchi, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau, Niger, Katsina, and Kwara States. The Federal Government also ordered the closure of 41 Federal Unity Colleges across the country.
However, like a scene from a Nollywood film, the 38 kidnapped Church members in Eruku, Kwara State, as well as the 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi state were released by their abductors without security agents firing a single shot. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, said that government used “non-kinetic method” in getting the abductees released. Let me break down the big English for my readers. A kinetic approach uses physical force or direct action like military or police intervention to address a problem, while a non-kinetic approach uses non-physical tools like diplomacy, cyber operations, and psychological influence.
In other words, the Federal Government went into discussions, negotiations and pleading with the bandits to release those that they abducted. The possibility of the government paying ransom to the terrorists for the release of those that were abducted could also not be ruled out, but we have been told that not a single kobo was paid. Should we roll out the drums to thank the terrorists for being Father Christmas in November?
Many Nigerians, including lawmakers, were aghast at the method used by the federal government in getting those abducted released, and have been asking questions. Were they simply released by their abductors? Was ransom paid, or were they rescued by the security agencies? There were reports that the DSS called the leaders of the terrorists, who in turn, called those holding the abductors to release them without any harm. In fact, a video circulating on social media showed a group of armed bandits questioning the kidnapped students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, shortly before their release.
The footage appears to capture a farewell ceremony as a bandit, believed to be the group’s leader, is heard asking the students how they had been treated during their captivity. “Were you left hungry?” he asked. “No,” the students responded in unison. “Were you taken care of?” he asked further. “Yes,” they replied.
The gang leader then told the girls that they were about to be returned to their families in good health. He also asked whether any of them had been insulted or mistreated, to which they again answered, “No.”
He confirmed that their release followed a “peaceful negotiation”, insisting it was not the result of any government or military operation.
“You have seen how the government failed to rescue you. Your release was secured through peaceful negotiations. Our leaders were contacted, and that is how you gained your freedom,” he said in the video, asserting that a non-kinetic approach led to their release.
This is definitely not how to solve a problem that has festered for over two decades. We cannot continue to treat kidnappers and terrorists with kids’ gloves. Negotiating with terrorists has never worked in any part of the world, and it is not likely to work in Nigeria. Lawmakers, particularly those in the House of Representatives, have made their mind known to the Federal Government in that regard. At a special session, the lawmakers decried the rising insecurity and urged the Federal Government to urgently address the crisis. In their statement, titled ‘House to the Rescue,’ some of the lawmakers condemned the Federal Government’s negotiations with the bandits. Titled, ‘FG’s secret negotiations with bandits are a betrayal of the Nigerian people,’ the Rep members accused the government of choosing dialogue with criminal elements instead of apprehending them.
‘’At a time when citizens are crying out for protection, the government has chosen to sit at the same table with those who abduct children, violate women, terrorise communities, and undermine the authority of the Nigerian state,” the statement read in part.
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Citing the fresh kidnappings in Kano, Kwara, Kebbi, and other states, the coalition posited that instead of decisive action, the Federal Government had offered “silence, excuses, and back-door concessions to violent groups. No functioning nation rewards criminality with dialogue. Negotiation with bandits has never worked anywhere.
“Global history warns us that countries that tried this path paid dearly for it. In Colombia, talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces emboldened kidnappers, increased ransom operations, and strengthened the group militarily. In Mexico, Back-channel contacts with cartels worsened kidnapping rates, empowered gangs, and created a security collapse from which Mexico still suffers.
‘’In Afghanistan, the concessions to the Taliban, including prisoner swaps—allowed the group to regroup and eventually overthrow the entire government. In Somalia, engagement with warlords only deepened the conflict and gave militias space to expand, while in Mali, deals with jihadist/bandit groups allowed them to spread violence into neighbouring countries.’’
The lawmakers cautioned the Federal Government that “Negotiating with violent non-state actors leads to more violence, not peace. Nigeria is not an exception. Nigeria will not be the first country where bandit negotiations succeed”, they submitted, arguing that the government was legitimising criminality and endangering the entire nation.
Now that emergency has been declared on insecurity, the government must prioritise the safety of the entire nation. One way that could be done is to strengthen our porous borders. Foreigners walk into Nigeria unchallenged, commit crimes and simply walk back. Again, Fulani in Nigeria regard Fulani in other Eastern African countries as their brothers and they can come in through the bushes without any one to challenge them.
I still cannot explain why Ahmad Gumi has not been picked up by our security agencies. He has, on several occasions, canvassed that the state should not use force to deal with bandits, and terrorists and that funds should be set aside for them in the budget. As their share of the national cake or what? Gumi is a known enabler of terrorists in Nigeria, and with characters like Gumi still walking free in Nigeria, we are not likely to see an end to terrorists’ activities in the country. For Seyi Tinubu to be having a meeting with Gumi shows how low we have sunk as a nation.
Kidnapping for ransom has been elevated to a business model where abductors take citizens and wait for government representatives to arrive with negotiations instead of force. It is time for the government to stop all negotiations and covert dealings with bandits immediately, launch a coordinated, intelligence-driven national security operation to rescue victims and dismantle kidnapping networks. When Boko Haram started in the 90s, it was the only known terror group in the country. Now, we have several groups operating in the northern region who are bidding their time before moving to the western region. By then, the conquest of the nation would be complete.
It is time for the President to publish a clear security strategy with timelines, responsibilities, and accountability mechanisms. He should activate full National Assembly oversight to investigate all government officials and state actors involved in unauthorised contacts or negotiations with criminals.
Government’s first duty is the protection of lives and property. Any administration anywhere in the world that chooses compromise with criminals over the safety of its people has lost moral authority to lead. Nigerians deserve a country where criminals fear the state, not a country where the state fears and negotiates with criminals.
See you next week.
