NYF blasts govt over insecurity, rejects NASS’s proposed security summit

A youth group, under the auspices of Nigeria Youth Forum (NYF), has raised serious alarm over Nigeria’s worsening security crisis, warning that the country is drifting dangerously into a state of anarchy as citizens continue to pay the price for the government’s failure to act decisively.

The Forum, in a statement signed by its National President, Comrade Toriah Olajide Filani, in Abuja on Wednesday, described the Nigeria’s worsening security crisis as ongoing killings in Benue, Zamfara, Katsina, Borno and Plateau states, alongside emerging terror-linked groups in Kwara State, as a coordinated assault on national stability.

The group rejected outright the security summit proposed by the National Assembly, describing it as not only repetitive but also ineffective move that has never produced meaningful results.

It asserted that had President Bola Tinubu sacked one General Officer Commanding (GOC) or Commissioner of Police over security crisis in their area of command, others would have braced up.

According to Filani, “We have no confidence whatsoever in the National Assembly’s proposed security summit. It will amount to another round of talk shows and hollow communiqués.

“If the President had sacked just one GOC or Commissioner of Police over the atrocities in these states, others would have sat up by now.”

The group submitted that Nigeria was bleeding and that those entrusted with protecting lives and property appeared more concerned with political manoeuvring than confronting the national emergency.

“Nigeria is bleeding while our leaders chase shadows. Every week, the country is plunged into fresh chaos and all we get are recycled press statements and condolence messages,” the group lamented.

To emphasise its submission, the group cited a recent BBC Hausa report, which revealed that no fewer than 3,610 Nigerians were killed by bandits and Boko Haram insurgents between January and March, 2025.

It stated that, according to the report, Niger State recorded the highest number of deaths with 631 persons killed, 251 abducted in 178 separate attacks. Zamfara followed with 585 deaths, 918 abductions, and 250 attacks.

“In Borno State, 514 people were killed, 357 kidnapped and 397 attacks recorded. Katsina witnessed 341 killings and 495 kidnappings across 247 incidents, while Kaduna recorded 106 deaths and 128 violent attacks. Sokoto and Kebbi states also suffered 184 deaths collectively within the same period,” Filani stated.

According to the group, additional data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) put the total number of Nigerians killed within the past year at over 614,000, with 2.2 million abducted across the country.

“Similarly, figures from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), analysed by Premium Times, revealed that between May, 2023 and May, 2024 alone, 4,556 fatalities and 7,086 abductions occurred across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory.

“The North-West led with 1,475 deaths and 4,343 abductions, followed closely by the North-Central which recorded 1,444 deaths, mostly from banditry, communal clashes and cult-related violence, along with 1,321 abductions.

“In the North-East, at least 819 persons were killed and 688 abducted from 408 violent incidents. The South-South zone had 336 deaths and 295 abductions, while the South-East witnessed 310 fatalities and 214 kidnappings.

“In the South-West, 172 deaths were recorded alongside 225 abductions during the period under review,” the group stated.

It added that another report from Beacon Consulting stated that 13,346 Nigerians were killed and 9,207 abducted in 667 out of 774 local government areas between May, 2023 and September, 2024.

The group noted that while speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives, the member representing Damboa, Gwoza, and Chibok Federal Constituency of Borno State, Honourable Ahmadu Jaha, decried the resurgence of Boko Haram and ISWAP and revealed that insurgents now deploy weaponised drones more advanced than those in the Nigerian military’s arsenal.

“At one point, 22 of Borno State’s 27 local government areas were under terrorist control,” the group quoted Jaha to have said.

He added that, “If we fail to act decisively now, Nigeria risks the kind of collapse that befell empires like Rome, whose leaders ignored the threat until it was too late.”

The Forum echoed his concerns, describing recent attacks in Uromi (Edo), Jos (Plateau) and parts of Kaduna as clear signs of an expanding warfront and asserted that what began as farmers-herders clashes has evolved into highly coordinated attacks by foreign mercenaries and well-armed bandit networks.

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