ARE WE REALLY SAFE IN NIGERIA???

Nigeria is entering one of its darkest chapters. From the pews of a Kwara church to the rice fields of Edu, from the forests of Kebbi to debates in the halls of the US Congress, one theme echoes loudly: the country is losing its battle against rising insecurity.

What should have been ordinary days of worship, farming, and community life have instead become scenes of horror, abductions, and fresh graves. And for many Nigerians, the question is no longer whispered it is screamed: How much more can we endure?

Worship Turns to Nightmare in Kwara
Tuesday evening, 18 November 2025, will forever remain a dark stain in the memory of Eruku, a once quiet town in Kwara State.

As worshippers gathered for service at a Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) branch, armed bandits stormed the building, transforming sacred worship into sheer terror.

Gunshots shattered the peace of the sanctuary. Lives were snuffed out in seconds.

Worshippers ran, prayed, cried but death moved faster.
Several reports confirm abductions: roughly 35–38 people taken, including the pastor and other congregants.

Families received chilling phone calls: captors using the victims’ own phones, dividing them into groups, and demanding ₦100 million for each person.

A Second Attack, Before the Tears Dried
Barely twenty-four hours later, tragedy struck again , this time in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, between 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm on 19 November 2025. Armed men invaded rice farms, killing two farmers, abducting a teenage boy, and plunging another household into grief.

Hardworking Nigerians, simply trying to harvest their produce, were turned into targets.

Another Tragic Loss: The Killing of MSSN Kebbi Ameer

In the north, the pain is no less sharp. The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) confirmed that its Kebbi State Ameer, Alqasim Uthman Ibrahim, was kidnapped on 16 November 2025, and later killed in captivity, despite reported efforts to secure his release.

His killing is a devastating reminder: this terror spares no faith, no geography.

A Nation Under Siege
A church attacked.
Farmers murdered.
A boy kidnapped.
A Muslim youth leader killed.
Different places, different victims, but one enemy: the rising wave of banditry and criminal violence. This is not just criminality. It’s a business model. The kidnappers are not merely terrorizing; they are profiting.

These kidnappers are growing bolder, richer, and more emboldened.

Why Is This Happening?

Kidnapping as a Business
What began as occasional raids has evolved into a structured, highly profitable criminal economy.
Imagine!!!The demand of ₦100 million per worshipper is not random , it reflects the scale and audacity of this enterprise.

Weak Security Apparatus

Many of the attacked communities are rural, remote, under-patrolled. The reach of the state’s security forces struggles to match the mobility of these armed gangs.

Impunity + Lack of Deterrence

The fact that such large ransom demands are made and broadcast publicly means these kidnappers feel secure in their impunity. The risk-reward is skewed heavily in their favor.

Socioeconomic Drivers

Poverty, unemployment, and limited opportunity continue to fuel the hunger for illicit income. Without alternative livelihoods, the kidnapping business draws recruits from across society.

Which Way Forward, Nigeria?

This bloodletting cannot continue. The stakes are too high. Here is what must be done and done now:

Declare Insecurity a National Emergency

This isn’t just crime; this is existential. State and federal governments must mobilize with urgency, deploying more resources, intelligence, and coordination.

Disrupt the Ransom Economy

Trace and dismantle financial networks that funnel ransom payments.

Use technology (e.g., financial forensics, blockchain tracing) to choke off kidnappers’ cash flow.

Enforce strict legal measures against ransom brokers and payers.

Strengthen Local Security Infrastructure

Increase patrols in rural and border communities.

Support and train community vigilante groups; integrate them into formal security strategy

Invest in better response capabilities, rapid deploy forces that can reach attack sites quickly

Address Root causes like
unemployment, especially among youth, through economic stimulus, education, and vocational programs

Invest in development in neglected regions; create real alternatives to crime.

Promote social cohesion: programs that build trust between communities and state institutions.

Transparency and Accountability: Hold leaders accountable when security fails

Ensure clarity in rescue operations , families deserve to know what is being done

Parliament and civil society should demand regular public briefings on actions taken

International Cooperation: Partner with foreign governments and international bodies to track cross-border movement of kidnappers.

Leverage intelligence-sharing, aviation support, and capacity-building to tackle the transnational dimensions of the crisis.

A Cry for Action

Nigeria Cannot Continue Like this. From mosques to churches, from farms to remote highways, fear is becoming a way of life.

Parents are too afraid to send their children to school.

Farmers abandon their fields.

Worshippers pray with one eye on the door.

Communities feel like hunting grounds.

This is not governance. This is not security. This is survival but survival should not be the national aspiration of a country of over 200 million people.

This is no longer the time for condolences. This is no longer the time for “investigations.”

This is no longer the time for promises without action.

Federal, state, and local governments must treat insecurity as the national emergency it is.

As the nation buries the dead and pleads for the abducted, one truth stands firm: the bloodshed must stop.

Nigeria cannot afford more graves.

Nigeria cannot endure more pain.

Nigeria cannot continue like this.

The time for action is not tomorrow.

The time is now!!!