Nigeria’s president responded to a surge in violence and abductions by declaring a nationwide security emergency, ordering the massive recruitment and deployment of law enforcement officers and armed forces personnel.
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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu issued the declaration Nov. 26, the same day the Anglican Communion of Nigeria confirmed Edwin Achi — a priest who was kidnapped by Fulani assailants Oct. 28 — died in captivity.
Achi was abducted along with his wife and daughter from the village of Nissi in Kaduna State. Kidnappers demanded 600 million naira — more than $400,000 — in ransom.
“We pray for the release of his wife and daughter still in the hands of kidnappers,” Anglican leaders said in a public statement.
Recruiting police and military personnel
As part of his declaration of a national security emergency, Tinubu ordered the police to recruit 20,000 officers, in addition to 30,000 he had authorized earlier, and to use National Youth Service Corps camps as training depots.
He also reiterated a previous order withdrawing officers from guarding VIPs and giving them “crash training” to prepare them for deployment to “security-challenged areas.”
Additionally, Tinubu authorized the Department of State Security to recruit and deploy specially trained forest guards to “flush out the terrorists and bandits” hiding in dense vegetation.
“My fellow Nigerians, this is a national emergency, and we are responding by deploying more boots on the ground, especially in security-challenged areas,” Tinubu stated. “The times require all hands on deck. As Nigerians, we should all get involved in securing our nation.”
Dramatic reversal for administration
The Nigerian president’s declaration of a “national emergency” represents a dramatic reversal for an administration that previously characterized violence as localized in a few isolated regions within the country, said Gideon Para-Mallam, an evangelical pastor and peace advocate in Nigeria.
While he welcomed the president’s acknowledgement of a national emergency, Para-Mallam insisted Tinubu should have issued the declaration on May 29, 2023, the day he was sworn into office.
For years, the federal government in Nigeria has followed a “policy of denial when it comes to the persecution and the killings of Christians in Nigeria,” Para-Mallam said.
He noted the pastor and his wife of Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ebija, a town in the Yagaba West local government area of Nigeria’s Kogi State, were kidnapped along with several other worshippers during a church service on Nov. 30.
Even with the presidential declaration of a national emergency, “the situation remains dicey and unpredictable,” Para-Mallam said.
‘Challenging moment’
In his public declaration, Tinubu commended the security agencies who collaborated to secure the release of 24 kidnapped schoolgirls in Kebbi and 38 members of the Christ Apostolic Church in Kwara State.
The church members were abducted Nov. 18 during a thanksgiving service in Eruku. The worshippers were kept in an undisclosed hotel for several days undergoing medical examinations after their release.
“We will continue to sustain the efforts to rescue the remaining students of Catholic School in Niger State and other Nigerians still being held hostage,” he pledged.
Tinubu also commended armed forces personnel, acknowledging it is “a challenging moment for our nation and for the military institution itself.”
“I charge you to remain resolute, to restore peace across all theaters of operation, and to uphold the highest standards of discipline and integrity,” Tinubu stated. “There must be no compromise, no collusion and no negligence.”
The president pledged support both for the nation’s armed forces and for “state governments which have set up security outfits to safeguard their people from the terrorists bent on disrupting our national peace.”
He urged Nigeria’s National Assembly to review laws to “allow states that require state police to establish them.”
Instructions for schools and places of worship
Joseph John Hayab, a Baptist pastor and chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the northern states and Federal Capital territory, called the presidential declaration “a welcome development and a move in the right direction.”
Recruiting additional law enforcement and military personnel is appropriate — provided they are “well-trained, better equipped and motivated to do their work,” Hayab said.
In his declaration, Tinubu said: “States should rethink establishing boarding schools in remote areas without adequate security. Mosques and churches should constantly seek police and other security protection when they gather for prayers, especially in vulnerable areas.”
Churches are “helping to provide schools in many rural communities,” Hayab noted.
“It is not good for government to discourage the church from establishing schools in rural areas,” he said. “Instead, as the church provides schools, government should ensure those schools and the children enjoy the protection of the government.”
Pointing to the volatile Middle Belt of Nigeria and conflict between Fulani Muslim herdsmen and Christian farmers, Tinubu urged herders to “end open grazing and surrender illegal weapons.”
Regarding violence in that region, Para-Mallam said: “Today, the evil triumvirate of Boko Haram, bandits and armed Fulani herdsmen are killing Nigerians with reckless abandon. The armed Fulani herdsmen are engaging in what one might identify now as nomadic jihadism.”
Need to ‘win citizens’ trust’
The greatest challenge the federal government faces in combating violence in Nigeria is gaining the trust of the general population, Hayab said.
“Any security emergency that does not win citizens’ trust will not be effective,” he said. “The most important war to win first is the trust from citizens.”
Wissam al-Saliby, president of the 21Wilberforce human rights organization, reported several Christian sources in Nigeria independently shared a similar message.
Some Nigerians fear the military has been infiltrated by terrorist groups, he noted. Others wonder if politicians will use the recruiting of military personnel and law enforcement officers to reward “their people.”
Suggestions they offered included ensuring transparency in the screening of applicants and creating state police who are answerable to state governors rather than to centralized federal authority.
Ultimately, al-Saliby said, a security response never is “the solution” in itself. Rather, he said, “it needs to be part of a bigger effort that includes economic reforms and solutions, and community peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Ken Camp and originally published by Baptist Standard.
