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The state of insecurity in Nigeria took a very dangerous twist last week. The rising cases of senseless deaths that have attracted global attention since US President Donald Trump declared Nigeria a country of particular concern and the US Congress debate on it, it appears that all hell was let loose last week.
It was like these death merchants who are bent on making this country insecure by the day, just decided to call the bluff of everyone and unleashed terror on innocent Nigerians in three major incidents last week.
As we have argued in the last few weeks, Trump’s declaration of the killings as genocide against Christians, may not be entirely true, but there is no doubting the fact that Christians were first targets initially and that since then Christians have been killed more than the Muslims.
There is also no doubt that the people doing these killings are mostly Muslims, whether you describe them as radicalised or not, they are Muslims. It’s also unfortunate that these murderous groups have continued to enjoy the sympathy of Islamic clerics and the Muslim elite in the north.
Suddenly, the same shameless enablers of these atrocities who have allowed and used these foreign mercenaries and murderers to gain political advantage, unleash mayhem, bloat their population during census now pretend to be bordered about the nation’s sovereignty. We lost that sovereignty when we were handing our national identification to these intruders.
It will be naive of anyone to think that the rest of the world can be deceived by our hypocrisy, prejudices, sycophancy and half-hearted dispositions towards the threat posed by insecurity.
We are either serious in taking out these criminals or we are not. There’s no middle ground.
The US Congress devoted time for public hearing on this while our National Assembly is preoccupied with receiving defectors and other mundane issues while the nation is on fire.
The US Congress brought persons to testify before it. Ever heard that with our National Assembly?
The American congress discussed banditry, genocide, blasphemy laws etc.
When Deborah Samuel was murdered, all Northern Muslims elite consented to the extrajudicial killing. Not one voice was raised against it. Before her there were several in the past.
Gideon Akaluka was killed and his head hoisted and paraded around Kano years before the adoption of sharia law in most Northern states.
All that was required to kill a Christian was for one lunatic to accuse someone of blasphemy and death will be the outcome. No trial, no fairness. Yet we are deceiving ourselves trying to build an imaginary nation.
First, it was in Maga, in Zuru Emirate, Kebbi State that about 25 students of Comprehensive Girls Secondary School, were abducted and their vice principal killed.
What is even more painful was that there was intelligence information that there was a threat to that effect, yet we were told security men were deployed on the eve of the incident. Unfortunately, barely 30 minutes after the security men departed, the bandits attacked.
While the country was still grappling with this unfortunate development last Tuesday, came another report that another bandits’ attack had occurred in Kwara State.
Eruku community in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State came under attack in the evening of Tuesday, leaving two people dead and over 30 were abducted, according to residents.
A parish of the Christ Apostolic Church was one of the places the bandits attacked.
The bandits, we were told, are demanding ransom of over N100 million.
The Eruku incident was happening while our main opposition political party, the PDP, was entertaining the nation with a battle royal of fifth columnists, moles and betrayers to the excitement of the ruling party, the APC.
Then, on Friday, over 315 persons, including 12 members of staff, were abducted by suspected bandits from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri in Agwarra Local Government Area of Niger State.
The Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Niger State chapter, Most. Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna who is also the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, gave the update after a verification exercise after an audit of students and staff by the school authority on Saturday morning.
The CAN chairman said, “After we left the school, we decided to make calls, do verifications and further enquiries only to discover that those we thought escaped are with them, 88 students were re-captured after unsuccessful attempts to escape”.
“I want to confirm to the whole world today Saturday 22nd November, 2025 a total of 303 pupils; male and female, 12 teachers: 4 females and 8 males, total number of staff and students abducted to 315”.
Beside these horrific incidents last week, there were also the gruesome murder of Brigadier General Musa Uba, Commander of the 25 Task Force Brigade, penultimate Friday and the murder of a Catholic priest.
Brig-Gen. Uba died in an ambush by the fighters of Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Borno State.
The Commander was leading his men and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) when the insurgents ambushed them along the Damboa-Biu axis, killing four operatives, including two soldiers and two members of the CJTF.
On November 17, the Parish Priest of St. Stephen’s Parish in Kushe Gugdu, Kagarko LGA, Kaduna State, was also abducted. He was abducted from his rectory on November 17 and his body was discovered, November 19.
What is even more troubling about these unfortunate occurrences is that there is the very likelihood of it occurring again and the senseless defence of these murderers by some shameless elite from the North who in saner climes should be behind bars.
At the beginning of the Bola Tinubu regime, I had boasted that with the exit of the Muhammadu Buhari government, insecurity will begin to abate. I had hoped that since Tinubu does not have any dog in this fight he would go after these murderers.
It appeared that was the case at the outset, however, things began to degenerate since the 2027 election ambition of Tinubu took centre stage. It appears the President now wants to suspend everything and would not do anything to upset the northern political elite who have not hidden their sympathy for these murderers.
That was the script that Buhari acted out throughout his reign. Buhari and his co-conspirators were perpetually seeking ways to placate these murderers.
All they did was build an industry for these killers while paying no attention to their victims; the orphans and widows they left behind.
For as long as it takes to address these issues dispassionately, for so long will insecurity remain with us. This is beyond political correctness or tribal or religious sentiments. What we have now is an ill-wind that will not blow anyone any good.