The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has asked President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in the North, warning that the escalating insecurity across the region threatens Nigeria’s stability, democracy, and regional peace.
In a communiqué issued on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, and signed by its spokesperson, Prof. Abubakar Jiddere, the forum expressed grave concern over the spate of violent attacks, mass abductions, and killings in the North.
The NEF said continued government inaction could amount to a dereliction of constitutional and international obligations to protect citizens’ lives.
The forum recalled the August 19 attack on a mosque in Unguwan Mantau Village, where gunmen killed at least 27 worshippers during morning prayers, leaving many injured and hundreds displaced.
It also condemned the execution of 35 abductees in Zamfara State despite ransom payments, and the recent attacks in Kaduna’s Kauru and Kudan Local Government Areas, which left eight dead and eight others seriously injured.
“These incidents are not isolated cases; rather, they are part of a persistent pattern of organized criminal violence and banditry that have claimed thousands of lives, displaced hundreds of thousands, crippled economic activities, undermined food security, and inflicted deep social trauma on communities,” Prof. Jiddere said.
The group criticized Nigeria’s security architecture as “inadequate, overstretched, and in some cases complicit through inaction,” adding that the failures have left citizens vulnerable and eroded public trust in government.
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Quoting the 1999 Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the NEF noted that recurring atrocities in the North may amount to crimes against humanity under international law.
The forum recommended that President Tinubu urgently declare a state of emergency in the North to acknowledge the extraordinary scale of insecurity, deploy adequately trained and equipped security forces with clear rules of engagement to protect civilians and secure border regions, and provide compensation, rehabilitation, and humanitarian aid to victims and displaced persons.
Others are for strengthening border control and regional cooperation with ECOWAS and the African Union to prevent cross-border incursions and engaging international partners, including the AU and the UN, for technical and humanitarian support.
The forum stressed that failure to act decisively would deepen human suffering, weaken national cohesion, threaten Nigeria’s democracy, and destabilize the West African sub-region.
“The federal government must act immediately, decisively, and transparently in full alignment with Nigeria’s domestic and international obligations,” the NEF said.
The forum pledged to continue monitoring the security situation while working with national and international stakeholders to secure urgent relief for affected communities.
