Northern Leaders Sound Alarm Over Rising Insecurity as Governors Push for State Police

A growing wave of violence and economic hardship has pushed northern leaders to raise fresh concerns that the region is edging toward a dangerous crossroads. At a high level meeting in Kaduna, northern governors and traditional rulers warned that the combination of worsening insecurity and deepening poverty now threatens the very stability of the north unless decisive steps are taken.

Their message came with clear demands. The governors renewed their call for state police, urged a six month suspension of mining to disrupt criminal networks and appealed for stronger collaboration across political, religious and traditional institutions. Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna asked leaders to close ranks and confront the security crisis with unity and sincerity, stressing that the north cannot afford political gamesmanship at a time of widespread danger.

The warnings followed a weekend where bandits attacked Tsamiya village in Shanono LGA of Kano State and abducted eleven people, including a nursing mother. Hours earlier, another community in Kano suffered an invasion that left one woman dead and three others kidnapped.

Tension was also recorded in Abuja where students of Government Day Secondary School Dutse briefly panicked after misinterpreting the arrival of soldiers for examinations as an attempted kidnapping. Officials later confirmed there was no threat and described it as a misunderstanding driven by heightened public fear.

The Federal Capital Territory police command announced that it had foiled a planned mass abduction after a firefight that killed three bandits at Gada Biyu Hills in Kwali. Weapons were recovered and a joint operation with the army continued across forest corridors.

In Niger State, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu assured families that pupils and staff abducted from St Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School would soon return home. He said the children were fine and pledged that the government would no longer tolerate criminal groups terrorising communities. Ribadu added that global partners, including the United States, France and the United Kingdom, were supporting Nigeria’s counter terrorism efforts.

At the Kaduna meeting, Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe described insecurity and poverty as existential threats to the north. He urged leaders to reject divisive narratives and face the drivers of instability, which include underdevelopment, illiteracy, poor resource management and a growing population of out of school children.

Traditional rulers, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, backed the governors and called for honesty, courage and firm collaboration. The Sultan reminded leaders that they have no other home but the north and must therefore act with urgency.

Experts across northern states reacted sharply to President Bola Tinubu’s recent emergency declaration on security. Some argued that the action must translate into aggressive field operations, enhanced intelligence and rapid deployment of special forces. Others insisted the declaration would only succeed if the federal government dismantles criminal networks, disrupts financing channels and strengthens border control.

Security analysts in Sokoto, Taraba, Bauchi, Adamawa, Kebbi and other states stressed that emergency measures must be practical, measurable and technologically supported. Many agreed that without sustained pressure, coordinated inter agency action and community based intelligence, killings and abductions will persist.

Across the region, the call is the same. Northern leaders want urgent reforms, state driven policing, stronger federal backing and the courage to confront criminal groups that have terrorised communities for years. What happens next will determine whether the north regains stability or continues its slide into deeper insecurity.