ENOUGH OF THE CARNAGE: THE TIME TO END MASS ABDUCTIONS AND TARGETED KILLINGS IS NOW – NBA

On Monday, 17 November 2025, Nigeria awoke once again to a horrific act of violence and national shame. Armed terrorists stormed the Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, murdered a courageous teacher, and abducted at least twenty-five innocent schoolgirls from their hostel after engaging security personnel in a gunfight. This despicable act was not committed in the shadows of obscurity, nor was it unprecedented. It happened in a country where impunity has become habitual and national tragedies have become background noise. The Nigerian Bar Association declares without hesitation: enough is enough.

Just hours earlier, Nigeria lost one of its senior military officers, Brigadier-General M. Uba, in an ambush by ISWAP terrorists in Borno State. That brutal assault followed another coordinated ambush in the same region, resulting in additional tragic deaths of soldiers. These terrorists are not only attacking unarmed civilians; they are now openly targeting members of the armed forces. The grim message is clear: no one is safe. Our nation is bleeding from both ends, the unprotected schoolchild, hapless civilians, farmers, road travellers, rural dwellers, and the uniformed officer on duty. All are now victims of a growing culture of brazen violence, terrorism, brigandage, kidnapping, wanton killings, and other forms of lawlessness that have overwhelmed our national security apparatus and dangerously eroded public confidence in the ability of the state to protect its people. The times are indeed dangerous and perilous.

This deteriorating state of affairs cannot be divorced from years of unchecked and under-resourced criminality, terrorism, and brigandage. Recently, it was reported that in the span of four days, no fewer than 145 people went missing in mass abductions across Kebbi, Niger, and Zamfara States. We have reached a point where we must prioritise the security of our nation. We cannot continue to record body counts and pretend that peace can be achieved by negotiating with terrorists. We cannot pretend that, so long as our major cities are safe, we have no reason to worry.

The threats posed by these terrorists and other criminal elements are clear. They threaten all of us, and we have indeed become casualties. We must confront and tackle them or face the heightening danger to which they expose us all. Failure to act is an admission that we have become either desensitised or resigned to never restoring peace.

All recent intelligence warnings, including the alert by the Department of State Services that ISWAP militants are planning imminent attacks in Ondo and Kogi States, demand decisive action. The warning points to a broad, coordinated strategy by terrorist factions to expand their footprint across Nigeria, turning once-secure areas into battlegrounds. This is not speculation; it is a clear and present danger. We are at war with enemies emboldened by state inaction, lack of decisiveness, and institutional dysfunction.

This is no longer a question of security logistics or isolated lapses. It is a question of national will. Why do terrorists and armed criminals still roam the forests and highways unchallenged? How are they able to impose their will on communities, levy taxes, displace families, kidnap, and kill at random? How do they operate without ever being brought to justice? Why are schools, highways, and military convoys so vulnerable to ambushes? Why do terrorists now feel emboldened to brazenly attack and kidnap large numbers of people? Why are credible threats, like those revealed by the DSS, not met with immediate, aggressive, preventive counter-measures?

The NBA demands immediate and non-negotiable action from the Federal Government and the Nigerian security establishment. These coordinated tragedies, kidnappings, killings, mass abductions, and other dastardly acts occurring across many parts of Nigeria, must trigger a full-spectrum national security overhaul, backed by transparency, accountability, and political will.

We call for the following:

1. A time-bound, coordinated rescue operation for the abducted schoolgirls, with full public accountability for progress and outcomes.
2. An immediate inquest into the intelligence and security failures that enabled the killings of Brigadier-General Uba and other soldiers in Borno, and a public account of measures being taken to prevent recurrence.
3. The urgent prosecution of all actors, collaborators, and enablers of terrorism, including those supplying logistics, arms, or shelter to armed groups, whether within or outside the security structure.
4. Full implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative, including physical fortification, perimeter security, and armed escort systems for schools in high-risk areas.
5. Investment in national satellite surveillance and forest-monitoring technologies, alongside military modernization and strategic intelligence reform.
6. Effective pre-emptive counter-terrorism measures in response to the DSS alert in Ondo and Kogi, ensuring that such threats are crushed before they materialize.
7. Comprehensive trauma care, restitution, and long-term support for the families of all victims, civilian and military, affected by these atrocities.

The Nigerian Bar Association salutes the gallant teacher in Kebbi who died protecting his students. We mourn Brigadier-General M. Uba and the valiant officers who paid the ultimate price for a country still struggling to defend itself. We reaffirm that the NBA will not be silent while Nigeria edges toward a national tragedy of unimaginable proportions.

This is not just about security. It is about leadership. It is about justice. Above all, it is about the soul of this nation. Silence is complicity. Delay is danger. The time to act is now.

Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN
President

Dr. Mobolaji Ojibara
General Secretary

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