ABUJA, Nov 26 (The African Portal) – President Bola Tinubu has ordered a 24-hour security cordon around forests in Kwara, Kebbi and Niger states following a surge in kidnappings and armed attacks across north-central Nigeria, including the abduction of more than 20 people from a community in Kwara on Monday.
Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication Sunday Dare said Tinubu directed the Nigerian Air Force to intensify aerial surveillance over suspected criminal hideouts and to maintain constant coordination with ground troops.
Communities in affected areas were urged to share intelligence on suspicious movements, Dare said.
The directive follows a rising wave of kidnappings and violent raids in remote communities across the three states, where criminal gangs have exploited forested terrain to evade security forces.
Fresh Kwara attack
Residents said armed men stormed Isapa, about five kilometres from Eruku in Kwara State, around 7 p.m. on Monday, firing shots and abducting more than 20 people, including a pregnant woman, nursing mothers and children. An elderly woman was reportedly killed by a stray bullet.
A community leader told reporters that seven members of one family were among those taken. Witnesses said the gunmen arrived with cattle, shot indiscriminately and left spent AK-47 shells across the area.
Kwara State Police Commissioner Ojo Adekimi confirmed the attack and said a detailed report was being prepared.
State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has appointed a cabinet-level security committee to propose short- and long-term measures to curb further attacks.
Rescued Kebbi students welcomed
In Kebbi State, Governor Nasir Idris on Tuesday received 25 schoolgirls abducted last week from Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga. He said the girls were in good health and that no ransom was paid.
Idris credited their rescue to security operations ordered by President Tinubu and thanked military and intelligence agencies for the effort.
Tinubu separately welcomed the girls’ release and urged security agencies to intensify operations to free other students still held in captivity.
Nasarawa residents report killings
In Nasarawa State, community leaders said suspected armed herders attacked Agboda community on Monday evening, injuring a man and forcing the abrupt end of a church crusade. A cleric who organised the event said attacks on villages in the Mararaba Udege axis had become frequent, with little security presence.
Parents plead for Niger pupils’ release
Parents of more than 265 children still held after last week’s mass abduction from St Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State have appealed to authorities to secure their release. Armed groups had seized more than 300 children; around 50 later escaped.
One father said his four-year-old son, who has asthma, was among those taken.
Teachers warn of strike
The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) condemned recent school attacks and warned it may direct teachers to withdraw from classrooms if security does not improve. The union cited a decade-long pattern of mass school abductions and said the situation had become “a national emergency threatening the education system”.
UN urges prosecution of perpetrators
The United Nations Human Rights Office on Tuesday called on Nigerian authorities to halt mass abductions and prosecute those responsible. UN spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan urged authorities to ensure “the safe return of all those still in captivity”.
Presidency explains limits on bombing bandit bases
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said security agencies know the identities and locations of the gangs behind recent abductions but cannot “bomb their enclaves” because kidnapped civilians being held would be at risk.
