Northern Govs, Monarchs Confer in Kaduna as Banditry Escalates

Governors of northern states and leading traditional rulers on Monday converged on Kaduna to deliberate on the worsening security situation across the region.

Hosted by Governor Uba Sani at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, the high-level meeting drew attendance from Governors Umar Bago (Niger), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Nasir Idris (Kebbi), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), among others.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar, led select first-class traditional rulers to the parley, which was earlier slated for November 29 but shifted to allow consultations with the Senate committee on security.

The meeting comes amid a surge in violent attacks, mass abductions, and ambushes on security personnel in several northern communities.

Fresh Attacks

The recent chain of incidents includes the abduction of 25 schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga in Kebbi State; the killing of Brig.-Gen. Musa Uba in an ISWAP ambush in Borno; and the kidnapping of worshippers at a Christ Apostolic Church in Kwara State.

On November 21, more than 300 students and teachers were seized from St Mary’s School in Niger State, prompting President Bola Tinubu to cancel his planned trip to South Africa to attend to the crisis.

Last week, the President announced the rescue of all 38 worshippers earlier abducted in Kwara.

The Kaduna meeting is expected to produce a coordinated security response acceptable to both political and traditional institutions in the North.