The Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum (ABMP) extends its deepest sympathy to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kebbi State, and to the good people of the State over the heartbreaking abduction of 25 innocent schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga.
This tragic incident has once again reopened the painful wounds of the Chibok Girls’ abduction, an unforgettable national trauma that shocked global consciousness and left a permanent scar on our collective memory.
We equally condemn in the strongest terms the recent abduction of schoolchildren in Niger State, another horrifying reminder that insecurity in Northern Nigeria remains persistent, coordinated, and deeply troubling.
These recurring attacks on our children, our most vulnerable citizens are an indictment of the continued failure to safeguard educational institutions across the region.
As we urge authorities to leave no stone unturned in bringing all abducted children home safely, we call for an immediate and thorough probe into the security breaches that enabled these heinous acts.
In the case of Kebbi State, revelations that the Department of State Services (DSS) had earlier alerted the State Government about an impending abduction and that the Government, in turn, promptly informed relevant security agencies yet the school was left unprotected, remains shocking and unacceptable.
Even more disturbing were the concerns raised today by Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State, who publicly questioned who ordered the withdrawal of soldiers from the school’s vicinity shortly before the bandits struck. This is a grave matter that demands urgent and transparent clarification.
The Governor’s remarks underscore the troubling pattern of inexplicable security gaps that recur just before major attacks, raising the spectre of sabotage, negligence, or deliberate compromise within our security architecture.
Since the beginning of Nigeria’s long war against insecurity, citizens have been inundated with reports of security lapses, failures to act on credible intelligence, and avoidable vulnerabilities with deadly consequences for both civilians and security personnel.
From the abduction of the Chibok girls to the invasion of FGGC Yauri, nearly every school abduction has been preceded by forewarnings that were not acted upon.
As a nation, the time has come to reassess and overhaul our strategy for combating banditry and terrorism. Bandits are not phantoms, they occupy identifiable camps. Security formations and the very communities they terrorize know these locations.
It is therefore incomprehensible that these criminals continue to maraud with freedom, confidence, and operational sophistication that rival state capacity.
Modern statecraft may recognize the borders separating Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Niger States, but for bandits, the vast forests connecting these states are a seamless corridor for crime and destruction.
Our governments must therefore devise and implement a collective containment strategy.
We urge the Kebbi State Government to lead Northern Governors in forging a united, strategic, and coordinated regional security response.
The menace of marauding bandits has long outgrown isolated state efforts and now requires an integrated, intelligence-driven, and uncompromising regional framework backed by enhanced firepower and shared security architecture.
At the federal level, there must be an immediate review of policies that involve negotiations or settlements with bandits. No peace strategy can succeed while armed groups remain fully equipped and emboldened.
Furthermore, Nigeria must reinvent its diplomacy as a tool of national security. For too long, our foreign relations framework has lost its centrality in governance.
The absence of ambassadors and diplomatic representation has weakened our capacity to influence regional security dynamics.
It is encouraging that the Federal Government has indicated willingness to appoint ambassadors; however, such appointments must prioritize individuals with deep understanding of the culture, politics, and security sensitivities of our West African neighbours.
Resetting our relationships within the sub-region is essential to tackling cross-border banditry and terrorism.
The Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum stands with the people of Kebbi and Niger States in this dark moment and calls on all leaders to act with urgency, sincerity, and resolve.
May Almighty God grant strength to the affected families and wisdom to all responsible authorities as the nation works to end this nightmare.
Signed:
Alhaji Abdullahi Yelwa, Ajiyan Yauri
National Chairman, Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum (ABMP)
