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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare the rescue of Nigerians held by terrorists and kidnappers a national emergency, urging the Federal Government to launch a coordinated nationwide offensive to dismantle criminal camps occupying forests across the country.
The rights advocacy group said Nigeria has reached a defining moment in its battle against terrorism, banditry and mass kidnapping, insisting that the country possesses the intelligence and operational capacity to defeat armed criminal groups if security agencies work in a unified and intelligence-driven manner.
HURIWA’s position followed the recent intelligence-led operation involving the Department of State Services (DSS), Kwara State Forest Guards, local hunters and vigilantes, which led to the killing of three suspected bandits and the rescue of nine kidnapped victims in Kwara State.
In a statement signed on Saturday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, the organisation congratulated the DSS and other security personnel involved in the operation, describing the mission as “courageous, professional and reassuring.”
However, it warned against treating the operation as an isolated success while hundreds of Nigerians remain in captivity in terrorist camps across several parts of the country.
“Every successful rescue operation should trigger an even more robust nationwide campaign aimed at dismantling terrorist camps and liberating every Nigerian still being held hostage,” HURIWA said.
The association posed what it described as a critical national question: “Who is really in charge of Nigeria’s forests—the constitutional government elected by the Nigerian people or the terrorist gangs that continue to abduct citizens almost at will?”
According to the group, the continued ability of armed gangs to raid communities, attack schools, abduct travellers and detain victims in forest hideouts for weeks or months has created the dangerous impression that some parts of Nigeria’s forests have become safe havens for violent criminal organisations.
“This disturbing reality should trouble every patriotic Nigerian. It is unacceptable that criminal gangs can establish camps, move abducted citizens across forests, negotiate ransoms and continue to threaten communities while families wait endlessly for news of their loved ones,” the group stated.
HURIWA argued that the persistence of kidnapping despite huge investments in defence and internal security points to weaknesses in intelligence gathering, inter-agency coordination, surveillance capability and rapid-response operations.
To address the challenge, the organisation urged the Federal Government to deploy advanced surveillance technology, including long-range drones, satellite imagery, electronic intelligence systems, artificial intelligence-assisted intelligence analysis, geospatial mapping and aerial reconnaissance platforms to identify terrorist camps before attacks occur.
It also called for stronger intelligence-sharing among security agencies and the establishment of unified operational command structures capable of coordinating simultaneous rescue operations across multiple flashpoints.
Beyond military action, HURIWA stressed that terrorism thrives on financing and logistics, urging the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and other relevant agencies to intensify lawful investigations into financial networks suspected of supporting kidnapping and terrorism.
The group expressed concern over reports that many Nigerians remain in captivity in parts of Kwara, Niger, Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Southern Kaduna and other communities affected by recurring attacks.
It therefore urged President Tinubu, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, to immediately convene Nigeria’s security leadership and order a coordinated, intelligence-driven nationwide rescue mission involving the Armed Forces, DSS, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other specialised security agencies.
“The success recorded in Kwara proves that when intelligence is timely, agencies collaborate effectively and operational decisions are decisive, terrorists can be confronted and innocent lives can be saved,” HURIWA said.
“There is no reason why such coordinated operations cannot be replicated simultaneously across every kidnapping hotspot in Nigeria.”
The organisation warned that prolonged captivity of innocent Nigerians continues to deepen public anxiety, weaken confidence in state institutions, disrupt farming and commerce and inflict severe psychological trauma on affected families.
“Nigeria cannot and must never concede any part of its territory to criminal organisations. Terrorists must not be allowed to dictate the security narrative, undermine national sovereignty or keep innocent citizens in captivity with impunity.
“The Nigerian State must demonstrate through coordinated action that it possesses both the resolve and the capacity to protect every citizen, recover every occupied space and ensure that no terrorist group is permitted to operate beyond the reach of the law,” the statement added.
