President Tinubu deploys troops and police after hundreds kidnapped, including 265 missing schoolchildren, amid escalating ransom crisis
LAGOS: President Bola Tinubu declared a nationwide security emergency following a wave of mass kidnappings across Nigeria.
Hundreds of people, mostly schoolchildren, were captured within days by assailants operating throughout the country.
“This is a national emergency, and we are responding by deploying more boots on the ground, especially in security-challenged areas,” Tinubu stated.
Recent kidnappings included two dozen Muslim schoolgirls, 38 worshippers, and over 300 schoolchildren and teachers from a Catholic school.
Thirteen young women near a farm and another 10 women and children were also among those abducted.
While dozens have been rescued or escaped, 265 children and their teachers seized from a Niger state boarding school remain missing.
Tinubu ordered additional military recruitment and redeployed police VIP bodyguards to core policing duties.
He authorised hiring 50,000 new police recruits to strengthen security forces.
According to the European Union Agency for Asylum, over 100,000 of Nigeria’s 371,000-strong police force previously protected politicians.
Nigeria faces a 16-year jihadist insurgency in the northeast alongside persistent kidnappings for ransom.
The 2014 Boko Haram abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls first shocked the nation, sparking international outcry.
Heavily armed criminal gangs now intensify attacks in rural northwest and central regions with minimal state presence.
These gangs operate from forest camps spanning Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi and Niger states.
Tinubu authorised intelligence departments to deploy forest guards immediately against terrorists and bandits.
“The times require all hands on deck,” he emphasized, vowing continued rescue efforts for captive students.
SBM Intelligence reported 4,722 kidnappings in 997 incidents between July 2024 and June 2025.
At least 762 people were killed during that period amid Nigeria’s escalating security crisis.
Kidnappers demanded RM48 billion overall but collected only RM2.57 billion according to the security firm.
“Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis consolidated into a structured, profit-seeking industry,” SBM Intelligence noted.
The latest attacks followed US President Donald Trump’s military threat over alleged Christian killings.
Tinubu urged mosques and churches to seek security protection during prayers in vulnerable areas. – AFP
