The Northern Nigeria Christian Youth Network (NNCYN) has raised fresh concerns over the worsening insecurity across the country, calling on the Federal Government and security agencies to take urgent and decisive action to halt what it described as escalating terrorism and criminality.
In a press release issued on Friday and signed by its National Coordinator, Lawrence Samaila, the group said the continuous attacks by terrorists, bandits and kidnappers had turned many parts of the country into “killing fields,” with northern communities bearing the brunt of the violence.
The youth body lamented that communities in Plateau State, Kaduna State, particularly Southern Kaduna, as well as Benue State, Niger State, Kwara State and Kogi State had witnessed repeated attacks, resulting in loss of lives, displacement of residents and destruction of property.
According to NNCYN, “recent incidents have further heightened fears across the country. The abduction and killing of a senior military officer and three others by terrorists linked to Boko Haram and its rival faction, ISWAP as well as the kidnapping of 64 persons in Tsafe Local Government Area are worrisome trends.
“The attacks on education and religious freedom as evidenced by the abduction of about 25 female students from a Government Girls Secondary School in Kebbi State where a vice-principal was reportedly killed, and the kidnapping of 38 church worshippers in Kwara State, in addition to the abduction of 15 persons, including nursing mothers and infants in Sabon Birni area of Sokoto State, where two people were also killed are acts that must not be tolerated in a democratic society like ours”
The NNCYN however, cautioned against viewing the insecurity “strictly through a religious lens”, insisting that, “the violence should be understood primarily as terrorism and organized criminality rather than as a religious conflict”.
The group noted that “victims of the attacks include both Christians and Muslims, adding that framing the crisis as a religious war could deepen divisions and hinder collective efforts toward achieving a lasting and sustainable solution”.
Calling for a coordinated national response, the youth organization urged the Federal Government “to strengthen the capacity of security agencies through improved funding, modern equipment, better intelligence gathering and proactive operations.
“It also appealed to traditional rulers, religious leaders and local communities as well as the international community to collaborate more closely, including supporting community-based security efforts, intelligence sharing and cooperation, technological support as well as capacity building to confront transnational threat”.
While pledging its support for genuine government efforts to restore peace, the NNCYN also warned political actors allegedly sponsoring violence for personal or electoral gains to desist, stressing that accountability would eventually catch up with such individuals.
The release concluded with the affirmation of the groups “readiness to mobilize its members across Northern Nigeria in support of peace building and community policing initiatives, maintaining that insecurity remains a shared national challenge that requires unity beyond ethnic, religious and political lines”.
