KEY POINTS
- Northern governors meet over rising insecurity.
- Kidnapping and banditry threaten schools and communities.
- Regional cooperation seen as crucial to reduce crime.
Governors from 19 northern states are meeting in Kaduna to talk about an increasing amount of violence.
Attendees include Governors Uba Sani (Kaduna), Bago (Niger), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Nasir Idris (Kebbi), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), and Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa). Others are represented by their deputies.
Traditional rulers, including the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III, are also participating in the emergency meeting at Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House. Officials have not released full details of discussions concerning Northern Nigeria insecurity.
Regional cooperation vital in responding to Northern Nigeria insecurity
Sources say leaders are deliberating on recent kidnappings and violent attacks. The northern region has seen a sharp rise in assaults on schools and communities.
Last week, armed men raided Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi, abducting 24 schoolgirls and killing the vice principal. A few days later, gunmen attacked St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Niger State, seizing more than 300 students and staff. Fifty students later escaped.
Governors plan to propose coordinated strategies that involve security agencies, traditional authorities, and community leaders. The focus is on protecting vulnerable populations, restarting schools securely, and preventing future abductions.
Governors from 19 northern states are meeting in Kaduna to talk about an increasing amount of violence. The meeting makes clear the urgent need for more cooperation between regions and new ways to stop the criminal networks that have scared northern states.
