Coalition raises alarm over worsening insecurity, mass killings

The National Coalition Against Mass Killings, Extra-Judicial Killings, Mob Actions and Impunity (NCAMKI) yesterday expressed outrage and deep concern over the worsening insecurity, kidnappings, mass killings and institutional impunity across Nigeria.

The coalition lamented that while the nation is descending into a frightening state in which citizens feel abandoned to criminal violence and state negligence, political actors at all levels appear more consumed with power struggles, defections, coalition calculations and re-election politics than with the urgent duty of protecting human lives.

In a statement from its secretariat signed by Tunde Agunbiade, NCAMKI noted that communities are under siege, schools are no longer safe, children are being abducted, teachers are being murdered and families are traumatised.

According to the group, citizens now live daily in fear of terrorists, criminal gangs and violent attacks spreading across several communities in the country.

It emphasised that the recent abduction of schoolchildren, principals and teachers — including the reported beheading of an abducted teacher in Ogbomosho — remains a painful reminder of the collapse of public safety and the growing normalisation of tragedy in society.

“We mourn with the affected families and all victims of insecurity across Nigeria whose lives have been shattered by violence, displacement, fear, and uncertainty.

“Humanitarian reports, civil society documentation, and media monitoring from January 1 to May 28, 2026, indicate an alarming security situation nationwide.

“Conservative estimates for this period documented between 200 and 400 cases of children abducted by terrorists and armed groups nationwide.”

“Some of these children were killed during attacks and violent incidents, and dozens were confirmed dead, while the actual figure is likely higher due to underreporting.

“At least 81 schoolchildren were held in captivity as of May 28, 2026, as many schools were attacked, invaded, or forcefully disrupted by armed groups.

“Multiple incidents were recorded in Borno, Oyo, Kaduna, and other vulnerable states. Thousands of families were displaced across affected regions, with more mass abductions recorded in Northern Nigeria alone.

“More than 1,100 persons were reportedly abducted between January and April 2026, many of them women and children.

“These figures are conservative. Many attacks in rural communities go undocumented, and numerous families are too frightened or isolated to report incidents.

“This worsening situation confirms the long-standing warnings of our coalition and other democratic forces about the dangers of weak accountability systems, misplaced governance priorities, and the failure to adopt people-centered security reforms rooted in democratic participation and human rights safeguards,” it added.

The coalition warned against ethnic profiling, mob justice, vigilante excesses, illegal arms proliferation, collective punishment and politically manipulated security operations.

It stressed that the continuing cycle of killings, kidnappings and impunity is not merely a security crisis but a national moral emergency.

According to the coalition, a society where citizens can be abducted, displaced and killed while governments remain reactive and politically distracted is heading towards institutional breakdown.

NCAMKI therefore called on governments at all levels, the National Assembly, the National Human Rights Commission, civil society organisations, labour unions, students, professional bodies, religious leaders, traditional institutions and the international community to urgently rise in defence of democracy, human rights and the sanctity of human life before the situation deteriorates further.

“The bloodshed must stop. The impunity must stop. The Nigerian people deserve safety, justice, dignity, and accountable governance,” it concluded