Bandits Kidnap 490 in Two-Week
By Daniel Ojukwu
Nigeria’s deepening security crisis has entered a dangerous phase as bandits and insurgents launched coordinated attacks across multiple states in just 13 days, abducting not fewer than 490 people, including worshippers, students, travellers, women and even a traditional ruler.
The Senate has warned that Nigeria must urgently strengthen community-based security as the wave of violence continues despite President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide security emergency and ongoing military operations.
From Kwara to Kogi, Niger, Sokoto, Borno, Kano and the FCT, communities have been left traumatised as bandits carry out repeated raids, forcing residents to flee. Many victims remain missing as security agencies race to respond to simultaneous attacks.
In Abuja, seven mourners six girls and a teenage boy were kidnapped on November 28 in Bwari Area Council, while in Niger State, 24 farm workers, including pregnant women, were taken from a village the same day. The violence started on November 18 when 38 worshippers were abducted during a thanksgiving service in Kwara, where three people were also killed.
ISWAP fighters in Borno kidnapped 12 girls from a farmland on November 23, before security forces rescued them. Days earlier, over 315 students and teachers were abducted from St. Mary’s schools in Niger State, though about 50 managed to escape.
Fresh attacks also hit several communities in Kogi, where worshippers were seized during a church service, and in Kwara where kidnappers demanded N150 million for the release of a monarch abducted from his farm. In Sokoto, gunmen kidnapped around 30 women including a bride and her friends after invading Chacho community house to house.
In Kano, Senate Deputy President Barau Jibrin condemned recent attacks in Tsanyawa and Shanono and warned that bandits displaced from neighbouring states must not be allowed to regroup in the state.
Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro said Nigeria does not need foreign military intervention to defeat terrorism, adding that communities have shown strong capacity to gather intelligence and support rescue efforts. He called for stronger involvement of local vigilantes, hunters and forest guards in the national security structure.
The Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) criticized the Federal Government’s handling of the crisis, describing the recent church attack in Kogi as a “direct affront” to Tinubu’s declaration of a security emergency. The group accused the government of lacking urgency, failing to prosecute terrorism financiers, and retaining security chiefs who are “underperforming.” According to HURIWA, Nigeria must apply tougher measures to end mass abductions and restore public confidence.