Sarafina Musyoki, 27th November 2025

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has announced a nationwide security emergency following a series of mass kidnappings that have targeted hundreds of people, including schoolchildren, across the country.

“This is a national emergency,” Tinubu said in a statement on Wednesday. “We are responding by deploying more personnel, especially in areas facing the greatest security challenges.”

In recent days, assailants have kidnapped two dozen Muslim schoolgirls, 38 worshippers, more than 300 students and teachers from a Catholic boarding school, 13 women and girls near a farm, and another 10 women and children. While some victims have been rescued or managed to escape, 265 students and teachers from the Niger State Catholic school remain missing.

To tackle the crisis, Tinubu has ordered the redeployment of police VIP bodyguards to regular policing duties and the recruitment of 50,000 additional police officers. He also announced that the Armed Forces will see increased personnel, and forest guards will be deployed to flush out criminal gangs operating in remote areas.

Nigeria faces multiple security threats, including a 16-year jihadist insurgency in the northeast and well-armed criminal gangs conducting kidnappings for ransom in the northwest and central regions. These gangs operate from forest camps across states such as Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Niger.

Tinubu stressed that all efforts are underway to rescue those still in captivity. He also encouraged mosques and churches in vulnerable areas to seek additional security during congregations.