Northern media professionals have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately declare a state of emergency on security across the 19 Northern states as killings, kidnappings and bandit attacks continue to rise.
The call came from the Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum (ABMPF), which said insecurity has worsened since the start of 2026. The group warned that daily attacks by bandits and terrorists now threaten lives, communities and national unity.
ABMPF Raises Alarm Over Rising Attacks
Addressing a press conference in Abuja, ABMPF Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Yelwa, said government efforts to tackle insecurity have failed to stop the violence or reverse the trend.
According to him, the recent abduction of pupils and teachers in Oyo State and the death of Major General Abubakar Rabe in bandits’ captivity have again drawn national attention to the security crisis.
However, Yelwa said Nigerians have become too familiar with the effects of terrorism and banditry because attacks now occur regularly.
“There are regular kidnappings, raiding and plundering of communities, squalor in IDP camps, and the spectacle of fleeing populations as once-thriving rural settlements turn into ghost towns,” he said.
Furthermore, he noted that journalists in the North witness the consequences of insecurity daily through their field reports.
“We see communities gripped by fear, with people fleeing into forests or, in desperation, into rivers for safety. We also see death, squalor and despair in IDP camps, where families are starved and children die of hunger and malnutrition,” he said.
Reporters Face Security Crisis First-Hand
Meanwhile, Yelwa said journalists often arrive at attack scenes before emergency responders.
“In many instances, our reporters are first responders when attacks occur. We live daily with these haunting experiences,” he stated.
Furthermore, he recalled that ABMPF’s security summit in Kebbi State in November last year expressed concern over the growing insecurity across Nigeria.
According to him, attacks have become more severe since the beginning of 2026. He cited coordinated assaults on military formations and deadly ambushes in Borno and Yobe states.
Consequently, he also pointed to persistent killings in Plateau, Niger, Benue, Kogi and Kwara states, alongside continued violence in Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina and Kaduna states.
Call for New Security Strategy
“We therefore call on the Tinubu administration to immediately declare a state of emergency on security in the North, with a clearly defined tactical strategy and timeline for drastically reducing insecurity in the region,” Yelwa said.
In response, he urged Northern leaders at all levels to play a stronger role in tackling insecurity. He argued that many attacks stem from local factors that communities understand best.
Furthermore, he called on residents to expose informants and collaborators working with bandits and terrorists.
According to him, communities must stop waiting helplessly for attacks and take greater responsibility for their security.
“We therefore call for the decentralisation of the tactical strategy of the war. We applaud the creation of state police and forest guards as complementary midterm measures,” he said.
However, he maintained that only a large deployment of conventional security forces can remove criminals from their forest hideouts and support the success of those initiatives.
Nine Killed in Fresh Kaduna Attack
Meanwhile, armed men killed at least nine people and injured 11 others during a midnight attack on Angwan Magaji community in Kamaru Ward, Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, near the Plateau border.
The attack occurred around 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday and has renewed concerns about insecurity along the Kaduna-Plateau corridor, where communities have faced repeated attacks in recent years.
According to the National Publicity Secretary of the Irigwe Youth Movement, Joseph Chudu Yonkpa, the attackers entered the village under the cover of darkness and opened fire on residents while they slept.
Furthermore, Yonkpa said most of the victims belonged to the Irigwe ethnic group, many of whom trace their roots to Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The victims killed in the attack were identified as Jerry Doctor, 51; Danlami Magani, 49; Sunday Chibi, 53; Rita Abdullahi, 45; Sunday Elkan, 5; Esther Kefas, 5; Happy Friday, 6; Moses Daddy, 4; and Daddy Ibrahim, 28.
Meanwhile, the 11 injured survivors are receiving medical treatment for varying degrees of gunshot wounds.
