PRP condemns killings, abductions, faults government’s handling of security

The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has expressed concerns over what it described as Nigeria’s rapidly deteriorating security situation.

In a statement on Tuesday, Falalu Bello, national chairman of the party, said the country has witnessed a surge in mass abductions, targeted killings, and coordinated terror attacks across Kebbi, Zamfara, Kwara, Kano, Bauchi, Yobe, Sokoto, Borno, and Niger states.

Reacting to the abduction of more than 315 students and teachers from St Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger state, Bello described the incident as “yet another brutal attack on our children, our future, and our collective hope”.

He said the kidnapping of 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi, the killing of a police officer and a vigilante in Kwara, and the murder of five police officers in Bauchi point to a national security breakdown.

He added that eight members of the civilian joint task force were killed in Gwoza, Borno, while attacks in Yobe and Kwara have claimed more lives, including those of police officers and rice farmers.

Bello said the killing of M. Uba, a brigadier-general, and the spread of terror cells beyond Sambisa forest show that the country is “steadily losing control of its internal security architecture”.

“For anyone to claim that ‘we are winning this war’ is to publicly embrace delusion, dishonesty, or complicity,” the statement reads.

“The current situation is not a temporary challenge; it is a national emergency. What confronts us is not just insecurity but a complete breakdown of intelligence coordination, operational capacity, and political will.

“Schools have become battlegrounds. Communities are being emptied. Security personnel are hunted with impunity. Terrorists now operate with precision, intelligence, and confidence — an indication of insider collaboration and institutional failure.

“Yet, instead of decisive action, Nigeria is served a cocktail of empty assurances, superficial reforms, and endless political theatrics.

“While citizens live in fear, political leaders embark on needless foreign trips, indulge in petty politicking, and display a shocking disconnect from the suffering across the country.

“Rural dwellers are now making their own deals with bandits and terrorists simply to survive.”

Bello called for the integration of community structures into the country’s security framework, saying they possess crucial intelligence on the movement of criminal groups.

He urged the federal government to provide more educational and employment opportunities to prevent young people from being recruited into criminal networks.

He also called for the arrest and prosecution of anyone found to have aided terror activities, noting that private negotiations with terror-linked groups should end.

He urged the federal government to overhaul the intelligence and security architecture, with transparent reporting mechanisms to Nigerians.

He said all Nigerians must rise collectively to demand accountability and safety, noting that the federal government must “stop denying the crisis, accept responsibility, and act decisively”.

“The time for excuses is over,” he Bello.