- U.S. ‘targeted killings’ claim has emboldened terrorrists, says Fed Govt
- Shettima: we’ll bring back schoolgirls
- Girls will be rescued in days, says senator
- President shifts trip to S’Africa, Angola
- Kwara State governor seek troops deployment in Eruku
- Council boss faults U.S. lawmaker
Following spate of attacks in Borno, Kebbi and Kwara states within days of each other, in which people were killed and kidnapped, the president has placed troops on the highest ever red alert.
He also directed troops to rescue the 24 abducted schoolgirls in Kebbi immediately.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu shifted his planned trip to South Africa and Angola for the G20 and AU-EU Summits, to enable him take hold of the security situation firmly.
The President, last night, got more briefing on the situation in the country, including that from Vice President Kashim Shettima, who returned to Abuja after his visit to Kebbi State.
Shettima met with families of the abducted pupils.
Also yesterday, the Federal Government said the claim of ‘targeted killings’ in the country made by United States President Donald Trump had emboldened terrorists in their nefarious activities.
But Shettima and Kebbi Senator Garba Maidoki raised the hope that the abducted pupils would soon be rescued and reunited with their families.
The wave of attacks started with an ambush by ISWAP terrorists in Borno, during which some soldiers and Brig.-Gen. Buba Uba died.
The abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi and killing of a security man then, the attack on a church in Eruku, Kwara South, where a pastor and two worshippers were killed and some people kidnapped.
Minister for Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris said: “Let it be known that President Tinubu has put our nation’s security apparatuses on the highest ever alert, and had deployed to actively pursue and eliminate terrorists, bandits, and criminal elements wherever they may b in Nigeria.
“Our security forces have also been mandated to swiftly rescue the abducted Kebbi schoolgirls and reunite them with their families.
“President Tinubu has also directed all security agencies to actively pursue, neutralise, and dismantle terrorists and criminal networks across the country,” the minister added.
Idris assured Nigerians that the rescue of the abducted schoolgirls remains an “urgent national priority.”
“The President has also directed the military and the police to deploy additional personnel to Eruku and the entire Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, ensuring strong security coverage and rapid response,” he added.
The minister reiterated that the Federal Government “categorically refutes any sectarian interpretation” of the country’s security challenges.
“In this critical moment, national unity is our most powerful asset,” he said.
“We must reject misinformation and division. Our common enemies are terrorists and criminals seeking to destabilise our country.”
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s status as a multi-faith nation where freedom of worship is constitutionally guaranteed.
The President restated his unwavering commitment to protecting the lives and property of all Nigerians.
In Birin-Kebbi, Kebbi State, where Vice-President Shettima represented him on a sympathy visit, Tinubu said: “Kebbi’s pain is Nigeria’s pain.’’
He assured the families of the kidnapped schoolgirls, relatives of the late Brig-Gen. Uba and the slain securityman in the school that the government will not abandon them.
He said: “This government will not relent. We will use every instrument of the state to bring these girls home and to ensure that the perpetrators of this wickedness face the full weight of justice. Kebbi, you are not alone. Nigeria stands with you. And we shall not rest until your daughters return to your warm embrace.
“Kebbi’s pain is Nigeria’s pain. When one child is taken, every home in this nation grieves. When girls in the safety of their classroom are seized by criminals, our collective conscience is assaulted.”
The President’s comment was contained in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha.
Shettima, according to the statement, said the President was “deeply troubled” by the abduction and killings. He described the attack as an assault on the nation’s collective conscience.
Shettima explained that President Tinubu sent him to assure the affected families that the government is united, resolute, and singular in its priority: ensuring the safe return of the abducted girls.
“This is not a moment for politics. This grief transcends party lines, geography, and identity. Our daughters must return home safely,” he said.
The Vice President Shettima applauded Governor Muhammed Idris, community leaders, traditional rulers, local vigilante groups, civil society partners, and all stakeholders for rallying together in the moment of distress.
He also commended the Nigerian Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Service, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and all paramilitary and intelligence agencies for their gallantry in the face of security challenges confronting the nation.
Governor Idris thanked President Tinubu for the show of support, concern and immense leadership.
He said that since the incidents happened, the President had been in touch with the state government.
Idris particularly thanked Vice President Shettima for the show of concern. He affirmed the state’s commitment and loyalty to the Tinubu administration.
Shettima was accompanied by All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Prof. Nantawe Yitwada; Senator Umar Abubakar Tafida; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Iman Suleiman Ibrahim; Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Bernard Fori, and Minister of State, Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Tanko Sununu Yusuf.
‘U.S. classification emboldens violent groups’
UNITED States (U.S.) allegation of Christians-targeted killings in Nigeria and President Donald Trump’s Country of Particular Concern (CPC) classification are behind the renewed attacks on soft targets across the land by terror groups, the Federal Government said yesterday.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George Akume said the pronouncements have inadvertently emboldened opportunistic violent groups, who exploit the international narratives.
Akume, who address a news conference in Abuja, spoke on the evolution of violent extremism – Boko Haram and Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP); insurgency, Northwest banditry, economic drivers of insecurity and what he described as the need to clarify misleading claims on Christians-targeted killings in Nigeria.
The SGF said that the insurgency structures had been significantly degraded before the latest wave of commentary from Washington, adding that such statements, though perhaps well-intentioned, had the unintended effect of emboldening extremist factions.
He stressed that what Nigeria needed from global partners, especially the U.S., was collaboration through intelligence, technology and equipment, not public labels that distort the country’s security realities.
The SGF firmly dismissed as inaccurate and dangerous the growing international rhetoric that Nigeria is witnessing Christians-targeted killings.
He said no credible international organisation had ever classified the crisis as genocide against any group.
According to him, Boko Haram and ISWAP have historically attacked both churches and mosques, killing Christians, Muslims and traditionalists alike, while Northwest bandits operate primarily as criminal enterprises with economic motivations rather than religious ones.
He said: “The current misrepresentation of the crisis as ‘genocide against Christians’ fuels religious tension, emboldens extremist and criminal factions seeking to exploit sectarian narratives, creates diplomatic friction, and undermines Nigeria’s longstanding efforts to build constructive international security partnerships.”
Akume reiterated that Nigeria is a secular state whose constitution prohibits the adoption of any religion as a national faith, adding that President Bola Tinubu’s appointments reflect the nation’s diversity, with equal representation of Christians and Muslims in the Federal Executive Council and the National Security Council.
The SGF added: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is now doing what ought to have been done over the last 20 years by previous administrations for the good of all Nigerians.”
Providing a detailed historical context, Akume traced the insurgency to the ideological currents that shaped Boko Haram from 2002, through its radicalisation under Mohammed Yusuf, the mass-casualty era of Abubakar Shekau and its transformation into ISWAP following its pledge of allegiance to ISIS in 2015.
He also highlighted the role of the 2011 collapse of Libya and instability in Egypt, which opened trafficking corridors for extremist groups.
“Weapons flowed through Al-Qaeda-linked AQIM routes into the Sahel and Nigeria, boosting the operational capacities of Boko Haram, ISWAP and later, armed banditry networks,” Akume said.
On banditry in the Northwest, the SGF said all credible analyses point to economic roots, including struggle for land and water resources, cattle rustling, illegal mining of gold and other minerals, kidnapping-for-ransom, and extortion of rural communities.
“These pressures, not religious motives, explain the persistence of violence in the Northwest,” he said.
Akume referenced the June 13–14 Yelewata attack in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, where over 100 people were killed, according to independent rights organisations.
He noted that the President immediately dispatched relief materials and ordered a census of destroyed homes and properties to facilitate reconstruction.
Akume stressed that the Nigerian Armed Forces remain highly capable and have reclaimed vast territories once occupied by Boko Haram and ISWAP.
He said what Nigeria needs cannot be foreign combat troops but targeted intelligence, surveillance technology and advanced equipment to finish the job.
“What is needed is partnership, not prescriptive statements,” he added.
Outlining the government’s strategy, Akume said Nigeria will scale up nationwide operations, tighten intelligence-sharing with global allies, intensify efforts to dismantle illegal mining and trafficking networks, and strengthen rural security and border governance.
He appealed to citizens across political, ethnic and religious lines to unite against violent extremism, saying “now is the time to speak with one strong and united voice to confront a common enemy and eradicate terrorists, bandits and insurgents from our national borders.”
Akume reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to deepening diplomatic ties with the United States on the basis of mutual respect, shared democratic values and a joint responsibility to enhance regional and global stability.
Kebbi Govt faults U.S. lawmaker on victims’ identity
The Kebbi State Government yesterday refuted a claim by United States (U.S.) lawmaker Rilley Moore that of the abducted schoolgirls are mainly Christians.
In a post shared on X, Moore condemned the incident and called for prayers for the victims.
Moore’s post reads: “While we don’t have all the details on this horrific attack, we know that the attack occurred in a Christian enclave in Northern Nigeria.”
But in a swift response yesterday, the Chairman of Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area, in Kebbi State, Hussaini Aliyu said the U.S. parliamentarian got his facts wrong.
He said the identities of the victims as shown on the list released by the government contradicted Moore’s claim. He urged him to desist from making unverifiable comments that portray Nigeria in bad light.
According to Aliyu, the Zuru Emirate, under which the Maga community falls, had never experienced a religious crisis.
He alluded to the list of the abducted schoolgirls (on page 1.)
The abducted Schoolpupils
SSS 3A AND B
1. Salima Garba Umar Senchi
2. Salima Sani Zirmi
3. Amina G. Umar
4. Rashida Mohammed Dungu
5. Saliha Umar
6. Aisha Usman
7. Jamila Ilyasu
8. Maryam Ilyasu
9. Naja-atu Abdullahi
10. Zaniab Kolo
SSS 2A
11. Faitma Sani Zimri
12. Hafsat Ibrahim
13. Nana Fiddausi Jibrin
14. Mas’uda Yakubu Tomo
SSS 2B
15. Hauwa’u Saleh
JSS 3A
16. Surayya Tukur
17. Hafsat Umar Yalmo
18. Mary Usman
19. Amina Ilyasu
20. Ikilima Suleiman
JSS 2
21. Khadija Nazifi
22. Hauwa’u Ilyasu
23. Hauwa’u Lawali
24. Ummulkursim Abdul-Karim
