By Patrick Wemambu
Media professionals under the aegis of the Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum (ABMPF) have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on security across the 19 Northern states with immediate effect.
Pointing out that insecurity has been on an upward trajectory in the concerned northern states since the dawn of 2026 – the body lamented that daily killings and abductions of defenceless Nigerians in their villages by armed bandits is indicative of the breakdown of institutional, material and strategic interventions deployed to tackle the worsening menace.
Chairman of ABMPF, Alhaji Abdullahi Yelwa said at a press conference in Abuja; “Recent national uproar over the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oyo State and the death of Major General Abubakar Rabe in bandits’ captivity has once again refocused national attention on the scourge of insecurity, which has been on an upward trajectory since the beginning of 2026.
“Over the years, we have become accustomed to the devastating consequences of terrorism and banditry to the extent that our human sensibilities have been numbed by the regularity and intensity of the mayhem. 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.
“As media practitioners in the North, we have seen it all. Our reporters daily cover the heinous atrocities of bandits and terrorists. We witness 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.”
“In many instances, our reporters are first responders when attacks occur. We live daily with these haunting experiences.
Recalling that at its security summit in Kebbi State last year, the ABMPF had expressed deep concern over the escalating insecurity across Nigeria – Yelwa described the situation as threatening the very fabric of national cohesion.
According to him, since the beginning of 2026, security infractions have taken an alarming dimension, ranging from coordinated attacks on military formations and deadly ambushes in Borno and Yobe. This is in addition to relentless killings in Plateau, Niger, Benue, Kogi and Kwara, as well as continued violence in Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina and Kaduna State.
“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 appealed.
“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. However, only the massive deployment of conventional forces to dislodge criminals from their forest hideouts can give these agencies a fighting chance,” he concluded.
