Thursday, September 4, 2025 - The Northern Elders Forum has urged President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in northern Nigeria, citing the worsening scale of insecurity and the government’s constitutional and international obligation to protect lives.
In a communiqué signed by its spokesperson, Prof. Abubakar
Jiddere, on Wednesday, the forum demanded, “a state of emergency in northern
Nigeria, acknowledging the extraordinary scale of the crisis.”
It called on the government to “Deploy adequately
trained armed, and equipped security forces with clear rules of
engagement to protect civilian populations and secure international border
regions.”
NEF expressed grave concern over the spate of violent
attacks, abductions, and killings across the region, warning that continued
inaction could endanger Nigeria’s stability and regional peace.
The NEF lamented that security agencies remain
overstretched, under-resourced, and in some cases complicit through silence or
inaction, leaving citizens vulnerable and eroding public trust in government.
The forum recalled the August 19 attack on a mosque in
Unguwan Mantau village, where at least 27 worshippers were killed during early
morning prayers, with several others injured and hundreds displaced. It also
condemned the execution of 35 abductees in Zamfara State despite ransom
payments, as well as separate attacks in Kauru and Kudan LGAs of Kaduna State,
which left eight people dead and eight others severely injured.
Jiddere said: “These incidents are not isolated cases but
part of a persistent pattern of organised criminal violence and banditry that
have claimed thousands of lives, displaced hundreds of thousands, crippled
economic activities, undermined food security, and inflicted deep psychological
and social trauma on communities.
“The recurring atrocities in northern Nigeria constitute
serious breaches of Nigeria’s constitutional and international obligations. In
their scale and persistence, they may amount to crimes against humanity under
international law.”*
Citing the 1999 Constitution, the African Charter on Human
and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, the forum stressed that the government has a binding duty to safeguard
lives.
The NEF urged the Federal Government to declare a state of
emergency in Northern Nigeria, 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 support to
victims, including displaced persons, in line with international standards.
It also called for stronger border control and regional
cooperation with ECOWAS and the African Union to stem cross-border incursions
by armed groups, as well as active engagement with international partners such
as the AU and the UN for technical and humanitarian assistance.
The forum warned that “continued inaction or insufficient
responses will not only exacerbate human suffering but also jeopardise national
cohesion, democratic sustainability, and regional peace.”
It pledged to continue monitoring developments while
engaging stakeholders nationally and internationally to secure urgent relief
for affected communities.
However, when contacted by The PUNCH, the Director-General
of Press Affairs at the Gombe State Government House, Ismaila Misilli, said the
Northern States Governors’ Forum, chaired by Governor Inuwa Yahaya, had yet to
take a position on the NEF’s demand.
“The Northern States Governors’ Forum has yet to meet on the
issue. The governor will need the input of his colleague governors after
studying it carefully,” Misilli said.
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