The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has strongly criticized the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the worsening security situation in Nigeria, declaring that the nation is "bleeding" under the weight of escalating violence, kidnappings, and banditry. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Forum called on the Federal Government to immediately declare a National Security Emergency and implement extraordinary measures to reverse the current security decline.
NEF Demands Urgent Action
Speaking through its spokesperson, Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere, the NEF expressed deep concern over the alarming deterioration of security across the country, which it said has reached a level demanding urgent and decisive action. Jiddere accused the authorities of failing in their constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property, warning that public confidence in the government is rapidly eroding as violence spreads nationwide.
The Forum cited Section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution, which stipulates that the security and welfare of citizens shall be the primary purpose of government. It argued that persistent attacks on communities, mass abductions, and killings across the country raise serious questions about the effectiveness of current security measures. Millions of Nigerians remain exposed to kidnappers, terrorists, bandits, and other criminal elements, the Forum noted.
Historical Context and Current Crisis
Jiddere highlighted that since independence in 1960, Nigeria has faced numerous security threats, including the Civil War, Maitatsine uprisings, armed militancy in the Niger Delta, sectarian violence, separatist agitations, cattle rustling, armed robbery, and the Boko Haram insurgency. However, he stressed that never in recent history has the country witnessed the simultaneous spread of multiple forms of insecurity across virtually every region as is being experienced today.
"From the forests of Zamfara and Katsina to the highways of Kaduna and Niger; from communities in Plateau and Benue to parts of Kogi, Kwara, Borno, Oyo, Edo, Enugu, Imo and beyond, violence has become a recurring feature of daily life," Jiddere said. Communities are attacked, citizens are abducted, farmers are displaced from their lands, travellers are ambushed on major highways, and businesses operate under conditions of uncertainty and fear.
Normalization of Abductions
The Forum expressed particular concern over the growing normalization of mass abductions and kidnapping-for-ransom. What began as isolated criminal incidents has evolved into a sophisticated criminal economy that exploits weak enforcement, porous borders, illegal arms proliferation, and inadequate intelligence coordination. In many affected communities, criminal groups operate for extended periods with little resistance, undermining public confidence in the state's capacity to guarantee security.
"Farmers are abandoning farmlands. Food production is declining. Rural economies are collapsing. Investors are losing confidence. Children are deprived of education. Families are pushed into poverty by ransom payments and displacement. Entire communities now live under constant threat of attack. No serious nation can accept such a situation as normal," Jiddere added.
Call for Investigations and Reforms
The NEF criticized the inadequate security presence in many troubled communities, delayed responses to attacks, and failure to prosecute perpetrators of major crimes. It called for comprehensive investigations into illegal mining activities and other forms of resource exploitation allegedly linked to insecurity, insisting that criminal networks thrive where governance and oversight are weak.
Jiddere demanded the immediate restructuring and strengthening of intelligence coordination among all security agencies, aggressive disruption of kidnapping and banditry networks through sustained operations and modern surveillance, full investigation and prosecution of sponsors, collaborators, financiers, and beneficiaries of violent criminal groups regardless of status, ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation, comprehensive auditing of illegal mining operations and criminal economic activities linked to insecurity, enhanced protection of farming communities, schools, transportation corridors, and vulnerable rural populations, and greater transparency and accountability regarding security expenditures and operational outcomes.
National Emergency, Not Partisan Issue
The Forum emphasized that the patience of citizens is not unlimited. Governments derive legitimacy from their ability to protect lives, uphold the rule of law, and maintain public order. Where insecurity persists unchecked, public trust inevitably erodes. "This is not a partisan issue; this is not a regional issue; this is not an ethnic issue. This is a national emergency. Nigeria cannot prosper while its citizens live under fear. The blood of innocent Nigerians should trouble the conscience of every public office holder," Jiddere stated.
He concluded, "History will not judge leaders by the promises they made. It will judge them by the lives they protected, the communities they secured, and the nation they preserved. The time for assurances has passed. The time for measurable action is now."
