Key Points

• Obasanjo urges the Federal Government to stop negotiating with terrorists and adopt firm action.

• He calls for international support to protect citizens as insecurity spreads in northern Nigeria.

• Recent mass abductions in Niger, Kebbi, Kwara, and Kano highlight the urgent security crisis.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo rejected fresh appeals for talks with bandits during an event in Jos.

He urged the Federal Government to stop apologising to armed groups and to drop every form of negotiation. His comment came at the Plateau State Unity Christmas Carol and Praise Festival.

Tension has kept rising across the North as attacks move from one community to another. Several states, including Niger, Kebbi, Kano and Kwara, recorded coordinated raids in recent weeks.

Each incident targeted students, teachers, farmers and worshippers. These repeated assaults have left families shaken and security agencies stretched.

Waves of Abductions Hit Northern Communities

Gunmen seized 315 students and 13 teachers from St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, on November 21.

A similar attack in Kebbi State happened days earlier, when 26 schoolgirls were taken from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga.

More incidents followed. Bandits entered the Palaita community in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State and carried away 24 people from a rice farm. Pregnant women were among the victims.

Additional raids in Kano and Kwara left about 20 more people missing between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Kwara recorded another major case when 38 worshippers were taken from Christ Apostolic Church, Oke-Isegun, in Eruku.

They later returned home after officials held discussions with the abductors. Soon after that release, attackers struck Isapa near Eruku and seized 10 people, including children and nursing mothers.

Obasanjo Calls for International Support

Obasanjo told the audience in Jos that many Nigerians no longer trust the state to keep them safe. He argued that citizens can seek international help when national protection fails.

New technology, he noted, gives Nigeria stronger tools for tracking armed groups. He recalled that during his time in office, security teams could identify suspects but struggled to reach them fast. Drone systems now make it possible to locate and confront criminals with more speed.

Obasanjo urged the Federal Government to use those tools with decisive intent. He questioned the decision to offer apologies or negotiations instead of taking firm action against violent groups.