Some of the abducted residents of Ngoshe community in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State have narrated their experiences in captivity from the suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.

Hundreds of troops rescued the victims, who were mainly women and children, and had been kidnapped on March 3, 2026, it was reported.

The released victims have now sought refuge at Pulka Internally Displaced Persons camp. They said they survived their ordeal by the grace of god.

Zainab Ayuba, one of the rescued women who lost her husband, described her experience as horrible and inhuman.

“The experience is horrible and inhuman because I was really sexually molested while in captivity. According to Vanguard “I even prayed that my enemies should not fall victims of Boko Haram terrorists.”

Another victim, 75-year-old Idris Mustapha, said he was lucky to be treated differently from other captives because of his age.

“I thank God and our security agencies for securing our lives,” Mustapha said. I am one of the lucky ones, because I was not molested or treated badly by the terrorists, maybe it is because of my age.

“They fed me three times in a day and were at ease.”

Another rescued woman, who identified herself as Hauwa Yusuf, said she starved while in captivity.

She said she was usually given only one meal a day, mostly guinea corn, maize and powdered grains without soup.

Zulum Visits Pulka Camp
The Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, visited Pulka on Monday and spoke with the victims who were rescued.

“In the latest operation, 357 persons were freed while about 82 others had been released in smaller batches since the abduction, the governor said.

The victims were abducted from Ngoshe, a border town in Gwoza Local Government Area, following an attack by suspected Boko Haram insurgents earlier in the year.

Zulum commended President Bola Tinubu for his role in the efforts to restore peace and secure the release of the abducted residents.

“I want to say thank you very much on behalf of the government and people of Borno State and the Gwoza community in particular to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for all the efforts he has been making to ensure the return of peace and stability not only to Borno State but to the entire country,” Zulum said.

The governor also lauded the military, the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies involved in the operation.

“I also want to seize this opportunity to commend the Nigerian Armed Forces, the office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Security and all other security outfits including our gallant Civilian JTF, Forest Guards, Vigilante and Hunters that have contributed immensely in the release of these abducted men, women and children,” Zulum added.

The latest release brought the total number of freed captives to 434, Zulum said.

“We are here to celebrate with the Ngoshe community after the release of 434 abducted women and children. What we saw this morning is about 360 which just came out two days ago. “But two to three weeks ago we also got about other persons, totalling about 434,” he said.

Back To Ngoshe Govt Plans
The governor said the state government had released funds for rehabilitation of the Ngoshe community.

Work in the community is almost complete and talks are underway with residents ready to return, he said.

“The government has released millions of naira for the rehabilitation of Ngoshe community. The work is almost complete. “We are also interfacing with the community on their return to Ngoshe. Those that are willing to return, we are working with the Nigerian military to make institutional arrangements that will ensure their safe and dignified return,” Zulum said.

He also oversaw the distribution of food and non-food relief materials to the rescued persons.

The freed victims are now undergoing medical and psychological support in a government facility, prior to their reintegration into their communities.

The post “I Was Sexually Molested While In Captivity” – Boko Haram Attack Victim Tells Story appeared first on TheNigerian.

The former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and President of the African School of Governance, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has attributed Nigeria’s long drawn war against terrorism to what he called failure of nationhood and absence of a common national identity.

Moghalu, who spoke on ARISE News, said the failure of the country to establish a common political, civic, ethnic and historical identity has undermined collective responses to security challenges.
Terrorism is still thriving because many Nigerians do not see the challenge as a common problem that requires a united response, he said.

Nigeria is unable to be a nation and that is why it cannot defeat terrorism. “We don’t see our problem as a common problem,” Moghalu said.

Countries under external threat can often mobilize effectively when citizens have a strong sense of nationhood and common purpose, the former presidential candidate said.

He said Nigeria’s internal divisions have made it difficult to achieve the level of unity needed to confront violent extremist groups and other security challenges.

“There is no nationhood, no common political, civil, ethnic and historical identity, and we are not internally united to resist external threats from terrorists,” he said.

Moghalu also cited persistent allegations of collusion between security agents and terrorist groups as further illustration of the deeper problems facing the country.

“We see this in the allegation of collusion between the security forces and the terrorists,” he said.

Nigeria has been fighting insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of violent crime, especially in parts of the North-East and North-West regions for over a decade.

Moghalu’s remarks come amid ongoing debates about the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria, with many analysts arguing that resolving the crisis requires not only military action but also stronger institutions, national cohesion and inclusive governance.

The post Moghalu Explains Why Nigeria Has Struggled to Defeat Terrorism appeared first on TheNigerian.

Bandits have reportedly abducted no fewer than 50 elderly residents of Magamin Diddi village in Magami/Faru ward of Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State on a reconciliation mission.

It was gathered that the victims were whisked away by a bandit kingpin named Jammo who is said to have control of Muntsira Forest in Maradun Local Government Area.

The Chairman of Maradun Local Government Area, Bello Dosara, confirmed the incident according to Daily Trust saying the victims went to meet the bandit leader without the approval or clearance of the government.

The state government, Dosara said, had always been opposed to any form of reconciliation with bandits, adding that Governor Dauda Lawal was not in support of such arrangements.

“We are against reconciliation with the bandits and Governor Dauda Lawal never supported that, but unknown to us the people chose to go on with it,” Dosara said.

Dosara stated that the bandit kingpin had previously blocked the village’s access to the market, but added that the council had been providing weekly security cover for residents to travel to the market and return safely.

He expressed concern that the residents still opted to approach the bandit leader despite the government’s opposition to negotiations with criminal groups.

“I wonder why, how they go and meet their rivals, they block access to the market and I support them with security every week,” he said.

The council chairman confirmed that 11 of the abducted persons had been released while 39 others were still being held.

“He released some to just brief the people on the unfortunate incident,” Dosara said.

Bello Husseini, the Councillor representing Magami/Faru ward, said the bandit leader had earlier requested reconciliation after one of his men was killed during a recent military operation at Kandare village.

He said the request was accepted by members of the affected communities themselves, despite the state government’s policy of no negotiation with bandits.

He said the communities sent a delegation of 50 men to meet the bandit leader but Jammo allegedly betrayed them and abducted the delegation.

Husseini said 11 members of the delegation were later released, while the other 39 remained in captivity.

He said the bandit leader was also demanding ₦24m for the release of three rifles, which the bandits were said to have carted away during previous confrontations.

Husseini said that Jammo and his men had an earlier confrontation with the Zamfara State security outfit, Askarawa, in which two of the bandit leader’s men were killed and their rifles seized.

The bandits later launched a reprisal attack during the last Ramadan period, killing two Askarawa personnel and taking away their rifles, he said.

“We are one to one, you see, they killed two of us and took their rifles and we also killed them and took possession of their firearms in the beginning,” Husseini said.

The latest reconciliation move was started by the bandit leader himself. “He said he was tired of banditry and wanted peace,” said the councillor.

“We are against any kind of reconciliation, because we know they are not trustworthy; they can tell one true thing against a hundred lies,” he said.

“The people he held hostage were elderly and he had no reason to hold them hostage; he betrayed them by saying he is tired of banditry and chose reconciliation,” Husseini added.

Officials Urge Military Action
Husseini who also said he relocated from his ward over insecurity, maintained that reconciliation with bandits would not resolve the security crisis in the area.

He and the council chairman called on the government and security agencies to carry out operations in Dajin Natsira, which they said was a major bandit enclave.

They said the area has not witnessed serious confrontation by security forces since the beginning of banditry in Zamfara State.

“They have never been attacked by any security forces and we are optimistic that if the government wants to help these people, one patrol five kilometres away from the village will give a very good positive result,” they said.

They said security operations in the forest would restore peace to several local government areas including Talata Mafara, Bakura, Anka, Gummi, Bukkuyum, Maru and Bungudu.

They said, “Whenever the forest is bombed, six out of the 14 local government areas in the state such as Talata Mafara, Bakura, Anka, Gummi, Bukkuyum, Maru and Bungudu will definitely be peaceful.”

The officials called on Governor Dauda Lawal and the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to urgently intervene and rescue the remaining victims.

Jammo was the overall leader of Dajin Nritra, which Husseini said covers Bayan Ruwa, Kwargwaro, Aljumma Fulani, Gidan Dawa and Kyetare, although each area has its own local leader.

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In a recent interview with OLUSEYE OJO, he said that Nigeria’s growing insecurity, characterised by banditry and terrorism cannot be solved with cold statistics or routine military updates.

Instead, he says, real resolution would only come when President Bola Tinubu sees the gruesome murder, torture or abduction of any citizen through the agonising lens of a grieving parent, where every single victim is not a collateral casualty of statehood but the heart-breaking loss of the President’s own child.
The cleric delivers a prophetic, non-partisan charge to the nation’s political elite against the backdrop of heightened grassroots vulnerabilities, rural displacements, and an economy losing vital foreign investments to safer continental neighbours.

In this interview, Bishop Oke explains the structural constraints of the body of Christ, exposes the sophisticated economic syndicates behind rural terror and takes off the veil on the massive, multi-million naira, humanitarian relief interventions the church quietly deploys across Nigeria’s worst hit regions.

What is the central message the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) is trying to pass across to the authorities at this moment as the level of insecurity across the nation reaches a boiling point?

“We are burdened for Nigeria today because we have lost our sense of value for human life and its sanctity. The level of banditry, kidnapping, violence, insecurity and savage killings all over the Nigerian landscape has risen to an intolerable height. It has come to a point when every single Nigerian ought to cry out against it to God for divine intervention, and to our governments for immediate and effective action.

In Nigeria it is more than taking lives. It shatters our national cohesion, discourages critical foreign investors, is causing a huge brain drain as our brightest minds flee, and fatally erodes the link between the people and the state. It has created a pervasive wave of insecurity and terror that ensures that the Nigerian people no longer feel safe anywhere in their own country. “We are under great pressure as this intolerable violence is tragically being normalised in Nigeria.

You spoke of the loss of humaneness. Can you paint a picture of the specific systemic failures and regional carnage that prompted this urgent cry from the PFN?

We are burdened for the loss of our own humanity. Witness the unchecked rampage of bandits and murderous herdsmen slaughtering Nigerian farmers on their own farms. Look at the Boko Haram insurgents, who are using the noble religion of Islam to perpetrate heinous violence against peaceful Nigerians, completely unchecked across our national landscape.

The destructive historical and ongoing trajectory of this failure. Many Chibok girls remain in captivity years after being abducted en masse by Boko Haram insurgents. “Leah Sharibu remains in chains of bondage by religious kidnappers purely because she refused to renounce her Christian faith and the Nigerian state did nothing. Nothing happened to the killers of Deborah Samuel who was brutally burnt to death in Sokoto by a murderous mob for mentioning the name of Jesus.

Since then, Taraba, Plateau, Benue states and Southern Kaduna have become daily killing fields. Edo, Kogi and Ondo states have similarly not been spared.

“Today, as we speak, some communities in Kwara State have been completely sacked by rampaging bandits armed with sophisticated guns and dangerous weapons.

Innocent people are being killed, raped and kidnapped over and over again in large numbers in Borno, Niger, Sokoto, Kaduna and other states of the federation.

Oyo State is the latest killing field. This culminated in the recent horrific abduction of several teachers and students, with one of the teachers, Mr. Michael Oyedokun, gruesomely beheaded and another shot dead.

During these satanic acts our political elite continued business as usual, as if nothing was going on. “This is an unspeakable and despicable act of terror,” he said.

You have rightly said that the President has to see every citizen as his child. How should that paternal responsibility shape the government’s response to the current socioeconomic collapse and the flight of foreign investment?

Basically, all Nigerians are sons and daughters of the president. The president is the father of all Nigeria and that is a basic principle of leadership and governance. So when one person is killed, one of his children is killed. It should hit home to the leadership in that personal and painful way. When a citizen is brutally beheaded, humiliated, tortured and tormented, crying while they cut off his head, it means one of the president’s children has undergone that horrible treatment.

It should never be a common news item. When the reality truly touches the hearts of our government leaders and they feel the deep personal pain of a father losing a child, then they will stand up and handle these situations decisively. That is what the Nigerian people want. They want a government that feels pain when its people suffer, and a leadership that acts with unwavering resolve to safeguard its home.

In terms of farming, all this violence is definitely affecting not only the farming profession, it is affecting every profession.

Farmers can’t tend their fields for fear of being raped, slaughtered or kidnapped, and this sets off a catastrophic chain reaction throughout the entire economic ecosystem. Food prices go through the roof, supply chains fall apart, and hunger stares the nation in the face. It cripples markets and livelihoods well beyond the agricultural sector.

Look at our position in the world and our economy overall. Right now, there are investors from developed countries who were planning to come to Nigeria because of our strategic advantage as the largest black nation in the world with a massive percentage of highly mobile and enterprising young men. We have a very vibrant, very energetic and very intelligent youth population and this makes Nigeria a particularly attractive market for global capital. They are keen to invest here but the absence of reliable power and the insecurity are forcing them to move their capital to countries like Ghana and South Africa where they consider the business environment to be safer and more predictable.

We are losing billions of dollars in potential investments, losing jobs for our teeming youth, losing our competitive edge on the continent because we have failed to secure our territory.

Therefore, the Nigerian government must rise to the occasion and deal decisively with these criminals in our forests, on our farms, in our cities, and those attacking churches and mosques to slaughter citizens. No criminal should get away with it, no matter where they operate or who they target.

In many of these theatres of conflict the military has been deployed but the killings continue. Where does the disconnect lie?

Our Government clearly lacks firm political will to crush these horrible evils. They have let this cancer grow unchecked, making empty promises that have done absolutely no good.

Our governments are busy rehabilitating so-called repentant Boko Haram killers and even drafting them into our security network instead of crushing terrorism, banditry and the likes! Thus the Nigerian military is getting demilitarised.

And this is why our brave Generals and their brave soldiers are being slaughtered like chicken. Why? Because our security system has been thoroughly infiltrated and internally fatally compromised.

Nigerians are tired of this evil. They are tired of the apparent misplaced attention of the political class on winning elections by all means, rather than focusing the full weight of our law and federal might to crush the killers of Nigerians.

In response to this crisis, the PFN announced a three-day national fasting and prayer session from May 22 to 24, 2026. Could you tell me about the background, the strategic aims and the real political position of the PFN behind this exercise?

The National Executive Council of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria met in the night of May 19, 2026, for fervent prayers and deliberations on the scary state of affairs in the country.

We as a Pentecostal community spread across every single state of Nigeria resolved that we would stand together in spiritual warfare and fast and pray to God our Almighty Father to arise and scatter the enemies of Nigeria.

The post PFN President Urges Tinubu to Prioritize Eliminating Bandits Over 2027 Elections appeared first on TheNigerian.

Senator for Oyo North, Abdulfatai Buhari, has explained how the armed gunmen that abducted 46 schoolchildren and teachers from schools in Yawota and Esiele communities in Oriire LGA of Oyo State carried out surveillance before launching the attack on May 15.

Their activities, he said, left telltale signs that could have helped nip the attack in the bud if reported.

The senator made the statement as a guest on a news and current affairs programme on Arise TV on Thursday night.
“Look at this school for instance in that Esiele and Yawota. They first went to Yawota and selected nine students.

From Yawota to Esiele is about five to eight minutes drive and then they came to Esiele to pick the remaining students and teachers. One of the teachers was trying to escape out the window. He’d been shot.

Another person, he is not even a teacher, he is just an okada (commercial motorbike) rider. He was dropping somebody from Yawota to Esiele and they think he was chasing them. He was shot.

The senator said the location of the schools affected in remote rural communities made them highly susceptible to attacks.
Now back to the (Safer) Schools Initiative; most of the time, schools in the rural areas are always about three, four classrooms. “It’s a very remote area,” he said.

Buhari recounted how strange business activities might have indicated the presence of the criminal elements around the area.

“There is a woman selling beans and bread two days before the strike,” he said. Normally her take-home is maybe N1,000, N1,200.

“But she was making N10,000, N15,000, N20,000 for the two days before the strike. She thought that maybe there is a market boom and instead of reporting it to Baale (traditional ruler) or any of the teachers that some certain people come here to buy, she thought it was her business booming or they are building certain things around that area,” he said.

The attackers were gathering information as a prelude to the attack, the senator said.

“Unfortunately, it turned out that those people were doing what they call surveillance, so when they struck two days later, they realized the people buying beans and bread worth N10,000, N15,000, this is their intention. “Sometimes information is also very important,” Buhari said.

The post Oyo Abduction: Senator Buhari Reveals How Bean Seller Earned ₦20,000 Daily From Kidnappers Before Attack appeared first on TheNigerian.

The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has said that President Bola Tinubu has lost grip of Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.

Baba-Ahmed was reported to have warned that the President’s handling of the security crisis could lead to public rejection if urgent action is not taken.

He said this on Thursday during an interview on Arise News.

“The security situation in Nigeria is deteriorating fast with violent attacks and kidnappings pervading all over the country,” the PRP leader said.

“President Tinubu has no grip on escalating violence every part of Nigeria is now vulnerable to insecurity. In a civilised democracy, President Tinubu’s record on insecurity would have cost him his seat long ago,” he said.

The kidnapping of children showed how deep the crisis was, he said.

“Every inch of Nigeria is now vulnerable to insecurity. Every time children from generals to toddlers are stolen. Children, toddlers in school have been kidnapped.”

Baba-Ahmed said the government had not faced up to the reality of growing violence. He said the insecurity crisis appeared normal to Tinubu and his inner circle.

He said, “Everything that should have been said by the media, by civil society, by everybody, except of course the National Assembly, Tinubu himself and his little circle of supporters, seem to believe that this is a problem that we can live with.

The PRP leader said the government had failed in its basic responsibility of protecting lives and property.

Now, President Tinubu has spectacularly failed to protect anybody. “Again, like I said, every part of Nigeria is now vulnerable,” he said.

He warned the country could suffer more attacks unless urgent action was taken.

“We are in trouble,” Baba-Ahmed said. “We have not been safe under him and it is likely that we will be more exposed to criminality between now and the elections.”

Baba-Ahmed said the PRP’s demand for the resignation of Tinubu was not political but because of the worsening state of national security.

“We said everything else. And we mean that in all seriousness. “He said President Tinubu should step down.

He said the status quo would be rejected by Nigerians if the President remained.

“If we project what he’s doing, how he’s performing between now and the elections, we don’t even need to wait,” the PRP Leader said. Nigerians will not have him.” »

“Insecurity has become a defining national crisis that can no longer be excused,” Baba-Ahmed said.

“Anything more?” he asked. What more can one say to President Tinubu and Nigerians?

“I heard your programme. You were talking about the increase in these kidnappings and violent crimes all over the country.”

The post Baba-Ahmed: Tinubu Has Lost Control of Nigeria’s Insecurity Situation appeared first on TheNigerian.

Panic gripped Borno community as Boko Haram terrorists abducted 13 travellers, including a seven-month-old baby along the Biu-Damaturu highway through the Kamuya axis of the state.

Terrorists intercepted two Golf Wagon vehicles along the road, carrying passengers, and took the victims away to an unknown destination.

Families of the kidnapped victims have now made a passionate appeal to the Federal Government, Borno State Government, security agencies and other relevant authorities to intensify efforts towards rescuing their loved ones and reuniting them with their families.

In a statement, they made the appeal, lamenting that relatives of the victims have remained in deep pain, fear and uncertainty since the incident, with little or no information about the whereabouts or condition of those abducted.

“The families are appealing to government authorities, security agencies, humanitarian organisations and all relevant stakeholders to urgently intervene and ensure the safe rescue of the abducted travellers,” the statement said.

The post Boko Haram Abducts 7-Month-Old Baby, 12 Others in Fresh Borno Attack appeared first on TheNigerian.

Former Director of Defence Information, Major General John Enenche (Rtd.), has called for more vigorous action to tackle banditry in Nigeria.

His past dealings with repentant fighters showed that some of them still plan to return to crime even after being released or taken through rehabilitation programmes, the former Defence spokesperson said.

He was reported to have spoken during an interview on Channels Television where he shared his experience of visiting a camp in Gombe State.

“In my engagement with surrendered fighters, some of them confessed that if they are arrested and later released after the reform efforts, they will still go back to join armed groups,” he said.

They have killed people everywhere and then they say they are repenting later, I was a part of it. I went to their camp in Gombe and interviewed them. Some would tell me that even if you take me to prison and bring me out, I am still going back and join them. What’s your job? So we take the bull by the horns.”

The reality, he said, “raises questions of whether we can trust rehabilitation and peace efforts in dealing with violent groups.”

He said some people may really change, but others remain fully involved in criminal activities and continue to be a danger to communities.

He said the continued insecurity in many parts of the country is an indication of the need for a combined approach.

Security agencies should not hesitate to dismantle criminal networks that continue to threaten lives and property, he said, adding that this is necessary to restore safety in affected areas.

The post “I’ll Return to Banditry If Released” – Former Defence Spokesperson Shares Repentant Bandits’ Confessions appeared first on TheNigerian.

“We are calling on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to urgently invoke Article 99 of the UN Charter and draw the attention of the UN Security Council to Nigeria’s escalating insecurity, including mass abductions, killings, attacks on civilians, mass displacement and other grave human rights violations,” Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) said.

Repeated abductions, killings, attacks on civilians and mass displacement in Oyo, Benue, Borno, Plateau, Kaduna, Zamfara and several other parts of the country reflect Nigeria’s worsening insecurity and serious human rights violations, SERAP said.

In the open letter dated May 30, 2026, signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “The scale, persistence and regional implications of the insecurity and serious human rights crisis in Nigeria represent a threat to international peace and security and risk exacerbating existing threats in the region.”

“Article 99 of the UN Charter is precisely meant for situations where emerging or ongoing crises demand urgent preventive diplomacy, sustained international scrutiny and concerted international action,” SERAP said.

“Several years of violence and conflicts in several states have caused appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Nigeria, SERAP said. “We are appealing under the preventive mandate of the UN Charter and the need to deal with a situation that is rapidly deteriorating in the country.

“Article 99 of the UN Charter states: ‘The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.’

“Integrating the escalating insecurity and serious human rights abuses in Nigeria into the formal agenda of the Security Council would enhance the credibility and effectiveness of the United Nations system in carrying out its primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security.”

“It would also keep sustained international focus on attacks on civilians, including abductions, killings and displacement.

“The crisis in Nigeria is not solely a domestic law enforcement issue. “Its impact increasingly affects regional peace and security by movement of armed groups and weapons across borders, massive displacement, growing instability beyond Nigeria’s borders and weakening human rights protection and rule of law institutions.”

There is no effective protection for people and communities. There are repeated reports of a pattern of large-scale violence in several states.

“Nigeria is experiencing a grave and worsening security crisis, including repeated mass abductions of schoolchildren, teachers, women, commuters and rural dwellers; attacks on villages and farming communities; armed groups and criminal networks killing people; and mass displacement.”

Communities in Oyo, Benue, Borno and elsewhere in Nigeria continue to face repeated attacks with devastating consequences for civilian life, dignity and security. The recent kidnappings of pupils and teachers in Oyo State, have exposed the severity of the crisis facing the civilian population.”

“On or about 15 May 2026, some armed men are said to have attacked some schools in Ahoro Esinele community in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State including Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School and L.A. Primary School.

The coordinated attacks left at least 25 pupils and seven teachers abducted. “An assistant headmaster was said to have been killed and another teacher later died in captivity.”

Disturbing videos of one of the abducted teachers, vice principal of Community Grammar School, begging President Bola Tinubu, Governor Seyi Makinde and Nigerians to secure the release of the victims, later circulated. “Abductees are being held in harsh conditions and exposed to extreme weather. There are calls for urgent dialogue to save their lives.”

“This incident underscores the devastating human toll of repeated abductions of schools, children and education workers, and the urgent need to strengthen civilian protection, accountability and prevention.”

“Available information also indicates that gunmen have recently abducted secondary school students and other travellers in Benue State as they travel to write university entrance examinations.

“The North-East, North-West and North-Central regions are also witnessing increasing attacks by non-state armed groups. At least 23 people have been reportedly killed by bomb explosions in Maiduguri, Borno State, while over 100 others were injured.

“These attacks have been accompanied by a series of attacks on military formations, attacks on internally displaced persons’ camps, abductions of women and children and the killing of civilians in rural communities.”

Gunmen have killed at least 10 people, including women and children, in recent violence in Katsina State. At least 20 people were killed in coordinated raids in separate incidents and residents were taken hostage. “Another attack in Adamawa State reportedly killed at least 29.

“Taken together these events are indicative of a growing security crisis marked by mass killings, abductions and ongoing attacks on rural communities.”

The situation is rapidly deteriorating into a humanitarian and security crisis with potentially far-reaching implications for Nigerians in general and for peace, security and stability across the West African subregion. The utmost urgency is needed to avoid this outcome.”

Recent statements by United Nations officials have highlighted the growing international alarm at the deteriorating insecurity and serious human rights abuses in Nigeria. “You condemned the killing of people in Benue State in June 2025 and called for those responsible to be found and apprehended.”

“You also condemned the terrorist attack in Kwara State in February 2026, reiterated the solidarity of the United Nations with Nigeria and stressed the need to bring perpetrators to justice.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was shocked by the surge in mass abductions in Nigeria in November 2025, urging authorities at all levels to take all lawful measures to stop such attacks, ensure accountability and secure the safe return of victims.

“The United Nations has also cautioned that insecurity in Nigeria is creating wider humanitarian and regional implications. “Violence in several regions has displaced millions, disrupted livelihoods and deepened one of the country’s most severe humanitarian crises in recent years,” the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria said.

“UN agencies have also expressed concern that continued attacks and instability are worsening food insecurity and putting pressure on communities in Nigeria and across the region.

“These repeated warnings confirm this is not just a domestic crisis but one that has serious human rights, humanitarian and regional peace and security implications.”

“The Secretary-General’s recent use of Article 99 in relation to Gaza reaffirmed the importance of this role in situations involving large-scale human suffering, humanitarian emergency and risks of wider regional destabilisation.”

“It showed how important it is to act fast when national crises have transboundary impacts, such as displacement and insecurity.”

“Under international human rights law, state responsibility goes beyond not committing direct violations. Nigerian authorities could be liable where they fail to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, punish and remedy abuses by non-state actors where risks are known or reasonably foreseeable.”

“The pattern of abductions, attacks, enforced disappearances, killings and violence across Nigeria is repeatedly documented and foreseeable, and these risks are well known.”

“Where such threats continue in the absence of adequate preventative protection, effective investigation or accountability, serious concerns arise under international human rights law including the UN Charter.”

“Continued insecurity across Nigeria has resulted and continues to result in devastating loss of life, the destruction of communities and fear among millions. “These attacks, their humanitarian consequences and their implications on regional stability are persistent and require urgent international attention.

SERAP has therefore called on Mr António Guterres to:

“Use your authority under Article 99 to immediately draw the attention of the Security Council to the situation in Nigeria.

Encourage the Security Council to provide regular public briefings on the issues of insecurity, abductions and humanitarian consequences in Nigeria.

Call for systematic reporting by relevant UN bodies on attacks, displacement and humanitarian impacts.

We call on the Nigerian authorities to take urgent steps to prevent attacks, protect civilians and ensure the release of abducted persons.

Demand for swift, unbiased and effective probe of all incidents and for perpetrators and enablers to be held accountable.

“Publicly urge the Nigerian authorities to respect their human rights obligations and strengthen civilian protection measures.”

Support measures to combat impunity, and guarantee remedies and reparation to victims and affected communities.
Call on the international community to use all available means to prevent further escalation and to protect the lives of the people.

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The First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, said Nigeria was too strong and resilient to be cowed by insurgents.

She spoke Saturday at the Government House, Ado-Ekiti, while meeting members of the Ekiti State Traditional Rulers’ Council.

The First Lady expressed confidence that the security challenges facing the country would soon be overcome.

The President is committed to tackling insecurity in the country and is working round the clock for lasting peace, she said.

She acknowledged the support Nigeria continues to get from foreign partners in tackling security challenges, expressing optimism that the situation would improve substantially in the near future.

Insurgents cannot intimidate the mighty Nigerians. Let us keep hope and continue praying for the nation.

God will not abandon the country in its bid to overcome its challenges, she said.

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