The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly to quickly change Nigeria’s Counter-Terrorism Act to make kidnappers terrorists. They say that kidnapping is one of the biggest threats to national security and economic stability.
HURIWA pointed out that at least 257 persons were kidnapped in the South-East alone between July 2024 and June 2025, which is 5.6 percent of the national total of 4,722 abductions, according to a new analysis by SBM Intelligence.
Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA’s National Coordinator, said in a news release, “The government must act now.” We hope the government doesn’t wait until a governor or a well-known national legislator is kidnapped before taking quick, thorough, and effective action to stop kidnappings.
HURIWA called it shameful that political leaders don’t treat kidnapping with the urgency it needs. They also said that “a significant percentage of the security agents paid and maintained with taxpayers’ money are deployed to specially protect top public office holders while ordinary citizens are abandoned to their fate.”
HURIWA alluded to SBM’s paper “Locust Business: The Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry: A 2025 Update,” which says that Enugu has the most kidnappings (123), followed by Anambra (63), Imo (42), Abia (27), and Ebonyi (2). Reports said that kidnappers in the area asked for more than ₦1 billion in ransom from their victims, but they only got ₦157.55 million, which is 6.1 percent of the total ₦2.56 billion that was collected across the country.
HURIWA quoted the SBM report as saying, “The Southeast and South-South face targeted religious abductions and financial extortion.” They also noted that “clergy and professionals are among the most affected.”
HURIWA criticized the latest kidnapping of Rev. Fr. Wilfred Ezemba of St. Paul Parish, Agaliga-Efabo, in Kogi State, saying that the pattern of Christian priests being kidnapped is getting worse. It also brought up a study from the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) that said terrorists have destroyed 19,100 churches in Nigeria in the last 16 years.
“There is a clear link between terrorism and kidnappings.” The law needs to show that this is true. We want kidnappings to be treated as capital crimes, with the death penalty by hanging being the worst punishment. HURIWA said, “Governors must also be willing to sign execution warrants in record time.”
HURIWA directly attacked South-East political figures, saying that Governor Hope Uzodinma, who is also the Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, spends too much time in Abuja “welcoming or waving goodbye” to President Tinubu at the airport while his state and region are unsafe.
“We want the governors, politicians, and religious and traditional leaders in the South-East to hold an emergency regional security meeting. Now is the moment to act. The violence, anxiety, and economic standstill in the area must stop.
HURIWA stressed that only strong, clear efforts by both the legislature and the executive can stop the security problem from getting worse. The group cautioned that anything less would be like being an accomplice by staying quiet.
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