Nigeria declares security emergency following wave of abductions

Nigeria has declared a security emergency after a recent surge in mass kidnappings targeting students and Christian worshipers, which has forced the closure of several schools across the country.

Under the emergency measures, security agencies have been authorised to recruit thousands of additional personnel, and nomadic herders have been ordered to surrender illegal weapons, President Bola Tinubu announced in a statement, cited by Bloomberg on November 26.

“There will be no more hiding places for agents of evil,” Tinubu said, also directing the secret police to deploy guards to “flush out the terrorists and bandits” hiding in forests.

In the past two weeks, nearly 400 people — including primary and secondary school students—have been abducted in a series of attacks. The crisis forced Tinubu to cancel a planned trip to the G-20 summit in South Africa, as well as an African Union meeting in Angola. While some victims have been released, more than 250 students and their teachers remain in captivity after being seized from a Catholic school on November 22.

The wave of abductions comes amid growing criticism of Tinubu’s handling of national security, both domestically and internationally. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has made exaggerated claims that Christians are being specifically targeted in Nigeria, while conservative U.S. lawmakers have highlighted herders in the country’s middlebelt — mostly Fulani Muslims — as responsible for violence against farmers.

In response, Tinubu has called on all herder associations to end open grazing and surrender illegal weapons, encouraging them to work with the newly established livestock ministry to address their concerns. “Ranching is now the path forward for sustainable livestock farming and national harmony,” he said, adding that the government will cooperate to “solve this problem, once and for all.”

Additionally, Tinubu urged the National Assembly to begin reviewing laws that would allow state governments to establish local policing where necessary. For years, Nigeria’s centralised police system has been criticised for being unable to effectively address widespread insecurity in the country.

By Tamilla Hasanova