The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately declare a National Security Emergency as insecurity continues to worsen across Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its spokesperson, Prof. Abubakar Jiddere, the forum said the country’s security situation has reached a critical stage and requires urgent, decisive, and extraordinary measures to prevent a descent into anarchy.
According to the NEF, millions of Nigerians now live in fear as communities remain under siege from kidnappers, terrorists, bandits, violent extremists, and organised criminal gangs.
“The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government,” the forum quoted Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, questioning why citizens are increasingly left to defend themselves against growing security threats.
The forum noted that although Nigeria has faced various security challenges since independence in 1960—including the Civil War, Maitatsine uprisings, Niger Delta militancy, armed robbery, separatist agitations, cattle rustling, and the Boko Haram insurgency—the country has never experienced such widespread and simultaneous insecurity across nearly all regions.
The NEF pointed to recurring attacks and abductions in states such as Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Borno, Oyo, Edo, Enugu, and Imo, saying violence has become a regular feature of daily life.
It expressed particular concern over the growing normalisation of mass abductions and kidnapping-for-ransom, describing it as a sophisticated criminal economy fuelled by weak law enforcement, porous borders, illegal arms proliferation, and poor intelligence coordination.
The forum warned that the consequences are devastating, with farmers abandoning their farmlands, food production declining, rural economies collapsing, businesses losing confidence, children missing education, and families being impoverished by ransom payments and displacement.
The NEF also criticised what it described as inadequate security presence in many affected communities, delayed responses to attacks, and limited prosecution of those responsible for violent crimes.
It further called for thorough investigations into illegal mining activities and other forms of resource exploitation that have been linked to insecurity in several parts of the country.
To address the crisis, the forum urged the Federal Government to immediately declare a National Security Emergency and implement extraordinary measures to reverse the trend.
Among its recommendations are the restructuring and strengthening of intelligence coordination among security agencies, aggressive disruption of kidnapping and banditry networks through sustained operations and modern surveillance technology, and the investigation and prosecution of sponsors, financiers, collaborators, and beneficiaries of criminal groups regardless of their status or affiliations.
The NEF also demanded a comprehensive audit of illegal mining operations, improved protection for farming communities, schools, transport corridors, and rural populations, as well as greater transparency and accountability in security spending and outcomes.
The forum stressed that the issue is neither partisan, regional, nor ethnic, but a national emergency requiring immediate action.
“The time for assurances has passed. The time for measurable action is now,” the statement concluded.
