In just two weeks, a wave of coordinated kidnappings has swept through Nigeria, from the Federal Capital Territory to the far edges of the North-West. The attacks have been so well-timed that they have put communities on edge and forced the government into an emergency mode that hasn’t been seen in years.
It always starts off gently. Gunfire wakes up one village. Another wakes up to find that its offspring are gone. A rice farm goes quiet. A church is empty. Before daybreak, a boarding school is broken into. A forest takes in 315 people. Then, as if following an unseen signal, the stories grow, according to Saturday Vanguard.
The events of the last fourteen days are not just random tragedies; they are a rhythm, a pattern of violence that sounds like a national warning bell that only the kidnappers seem to hear properly.
The Capital of the Nation Was Breached, and Trust Was Shaken
In Abuja, Niger, Kwara, Kebbi, Borno, Zamfara, Katsina, and Kaduna, kidnappings went up, and the criminals were so sure of themselves that they were ready for it. Nigeria has gone through cycles of crisis before, but this time it felt like a storm finding its own strength.
When gunmen break into the Federal Capital Territory, which is the country’s power center, and kidnap seven mourners in Gidan Bijimi, including six girls and a sixteen-year-old boy, it shows that things are becoming worse.
The attack happened just a few days after an attempted kidnapping in Guto that left two suspects dead. There was no mistaking the message: the capital is no longer safe. The infamous Abuja–Kaduna woodland axis, which armed groups have used for a long time, seems to be coming back to life.
Niger State: The Place Where the Most Horrible Things Happened
Niger State has seemed like a community under siege all of November. The first thing that shocked the whole country was the kidnapping at St. Mary’s School, Papiri. Gunmen came in on motorbikes and trucks before daybreak and took 303 pupils and 12 professors. In just one morning, 315 people disappeared into the wilderness.
Fifty would subsequently find their way back, shocked but alive, but the most recent updates said that more than 250 were still missing.
Days later, Palaita had its own grief when twenty-four farm laborers, including pregnant women, were removed straight from their fields. Nigerians know this narrative all too well, but it never stops hurting.
Kwara’s Quiet Villages and Loud Nightmares
Thirty-eight people were taken from a church in Eruku, Kwara, in early November and then let go. But the peace didn’t last long. On the 24th and 25th, gunmen attacked Isapa village and took between eleven and seventeen people hostage, including a pregnant woman, nursing moms, and children.
Farming villages that used to be quiet now judge how dangerous things are by how close they are to woodland borders. Even though the federal government has ordered round-the-clock surveillance of the region’s woodlands, anxiety nevertheless hangs in the air like a shadow.
Kebbi’s Schoolgirls and the Growing Map of Fear
Kebbi got its own shock when twenty-five schoolgirls were taken from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga. One got away right away, and the rest were saved later. The attack made the map of instability even bigger, reaching states that were earlier supposed to be far away from major rebel activity.
Meanwhile, in Borno, Zamfara, Katsina, and Kaduna, smaller but nonetheless terrible events kept happening without stopping. Nigeria’s insecurity is no longer limited to one area; it now covers a wide area.
A Profitable Business, but a Late Start
Security experts have been saying for a long time that abduction and robbery have become a complex, profitable business, an underground economy that keeps growing and coming up with new ideas. While the government answers ranged from denial to cautious hope, criminal networks became bolder and more organized.
After that, things changed. The government suddenly became more strict, either because of the sheer number of attacks, the embarrassment of breaches reaching the capital, or the ripple effect of worldwide comments, including some say comments by US President Donald Trump. There were more deployments. Directives got more clear. The language got harsher. But this awakening came after the crooks had already made the battlefield bigger.
Comments from those who are worried
Architect Arc. Bello Muhammed: “We know that pressure from other countries could make things worse for the country.” Some people think this has to do with politics across the world, but I think it’s also a failure of leadership on the side of the federal government. The enemies are only taking advantage. The government needs to be brave and find and punish the people who are working with the enemy to get cheap political points. This was the exact plan that got rid of former President Goodluck Jonathan. “It’s all politics gone too far.”
Sewhude Akande, DG of the Badagry Tourism Development Center (BTDC), said, “The attacks aren’t really ‘renewed’; they just got more attention after President Trump’s statement.” His words have brought new attention from Nigerians and the media to a problem that has been going on for years.
Terrorists may have kidnapped 25 schoolgirls and killed a military major recently to show that they are not afraid of the danger of US intervention. Instead of their regular attacks on small communities, they seem to be doing more high-profile and symbolic attacks to demonstrate resistance and get as much attention as possible.”
Comrade A. Ezeonara, a political and human rights activist, said, “The renewed attacks, despite the threat, show that the Federal Government has no real plans to end the insurgency.” During the campaign, VP Kashim Shettima declared that if they won, PBAT would be in charge of the economy and he would be in charge of keeping Nigeria safe. But how many terrorists have they caught, tried, and put in jail since they took office? Non-state actors should never be able to overpower government officials, whose main job is to keep people and property safe.
The Declared Emergency and Its Importance
That’s why the current state of emergency on security grounds is both a comfort and a cause for concern. A national security emergency is not just a symbol; it changes how the government works. It gives security agencies more freedom to act and closes the gap between intelligence and action, which is usually a long one. It makes it easier for states to strengthen their local defense systems. Most importantly, it might speed up terrorism trials by moving them to military courts. Cases that used to take years to finish could suddenly be over in weeks.
But more power comes with big hazards. Civil liberties might get smaller. There needs to be more strict oversight. The line between being urgent and going overboard gets narrow. A country that is under siege can’t afford to hesitate when it comes to administration, but it also can’t afford to use force without limits.
A Nation Holding Its Breath
Nigeria is at a crossroads right now. The government says it has finally woken up, but the criminals don’t seem to be slowing down. People in the area are ready for the next noise in the night. And the country wonders if this late awakening, which was made official by an emergency order, can really put an end to a crisis that has gained its own momentum, or if this chaotic two weeks will be remembered as the time when Nigeria realized that the storm was far worse than just insecurity.
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