The National Coalition Against Mass Killings, Extra-Judicial Killings, Mob Actions, and Impunity (NCAMKI) has raised serious concerns over the increasing wave of kidnappings, mass killings, violent attacks, and organized criminal assaults across communities in Nigeria. The group described these incidents as clear evidence of the persistent failure of the nation’s security architecture to protect lives and prevent recurring tragedies.
Alarming Incidents in Ogbomosho
NCAMKI expressed particular distress over the recent abduction of a school principal, teachers, and students in Ogbomosho, Oyo State. The situation worsened when one of the abducted teachers was beheaded, while several others remain in captivity under traumatic and uncertain conditions. In a statement from its secretariat signed by Tunde Agunbiade, the coalition labeled the incident as cruel and barbaric, emphasizing that the attack targeted not only innocent citizens but also education, humanity, community peace, and the future of society.
Impact on Communities
The coalition noted that no family should endure the agony of waiting helplessly while loved ones are held captive or killed under such circumstances. It expressed solidarity with victims of violent attacks, kidnappings, and insecurity across the country, highlighting that many Nigerians now live daily with grief, displacement, fear, poverty, and psychological trauma due to the persistent breakdown of security and governance systems.
“The continuous bloodshed in both rural and urban communities has bred widespread distrust and frustration among citizens who increasingly feel abandoned and unprotected. While the desperation within affected communities is understandable, it must not degenerate into ethnic profiling, jungle justice, indiscriminate reprisals, unlawful vigilantism, or uncontrolled arms proliferation,” the statement read.
Call for Lawful Approaches
NCAMKI strongly cautioned against narratives that criminalize entire ethnic groups, communities, or regions based on the actions of violent criminal networks and extremists. Such profiling deepens division, fuels retaliatory violence, and undermines national unity. The group insisted that criminals must be isolated through lawful, intelligence-driven investigations and coordinated operations, not through mob attacks, collective punishment, or ethnic suspicion directed at innocent citizens.
“We recognize the legitimate need for communities to organize lawful, preventive safety structures within constitutional and human rights frameworks. However, community defense must never become a cover for revenge attacks, ethnic militias, torture, jungle justice, or illegal arms accumulation,” the coalition added.
Demands for Action
NCAMKI called for immediate rescue efforts and coordinated intelligence operations to secure the release of all persons still held captive in the Ogbomosho incident and other abductions across the country. The coalition also urged the provision of emergency humanitarian, psychological, and financial support for affected families, survivors, and traumatized communities.
Furthermore, the group advocated for the deployment of community-centered early warning and rapid response systems in vulnerable areas to identify and prevent attacks before they escalate. It called for nationwide training and public education on lawful community protection strategies, emergency reporting mechanisms, and preventive security coordination.
Strengthening Collaboration
The coalition urged structured collaboration among communities, civil society organizations, local authorities, and security agencies to strengthen intelligence sharing and preventive interventions. According to NCAMKI, inclusive community safety structures involving youths, women, traditional institutions, religious bodies, and professional groups are necessary to address insecurity effectively.
The group also called for urgent reforms within the security sector to tackle delayed responses, intelligence failures, operational negligence, and lack of accountability. It advocated stricter measures against illegal arms proliferation and criminal networks fueling violence across communities.
National Campaigns and Prosecutions
NCAMKI further called for national campaigns against hate speech, ethnic profiling, mob violence, and incitement capable of triggering wider communal conflicts. It demanded independent investigations and prosecution of perpetrators of kidnappings, extra-judicial killings, mob actions, and acts of terror, regardless of status or affiliation.
The coalition maintained that sustainable security cannot be achieved through force or reactionary violence alone. It stressed that Nigeria must reject collective blame, ethnic hostility, and the uncontrolled militarization of communities. The country urgently needs an organized, lawful, intelligence-driven, and people-centered security framework that isolates violent extremists while upholding constitutional order, democratic values, and social cohesion.
Unity in Response
“We call on the Federal Government, state governments, security agencies, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organizations, and all communities to unite in building a national response rooted in prevention, accountability, justice, and humanity. The pain of affected families demands more than statements. It demands action that restores safety, delivers justice, and rebuilds public confidence in the state’s duty to protect every Nigerian life,” the coalition concluded.
