By: Dr. Philip B. Olusola Lead City University, Ibadan
If there was ever a time for Nigeria to declare an all-out war against kidnapping, that time is now.
The disturbing testimony of a 56-year-old woman who spent one month and nine days in the captivity of kidnappers is more than another tragic story. It is a piercing alarm that the nation can no longer afford to ignore. Her allegation that security operations were repeatedly compromised by information leaked from within the security system, if established through a thorough, transparent, and independent investigation, is perhaps the most disturbing aspect of her ordeal. It suggests that the enemy may not only be lurking in our forests but may also have sympathisers or collaborators within institutions entrusted with protecting the public.
Whether that allegation is ultimately substantiated or not, one fact is beyond dispute: kidnapping has grown into a full-scale national emergency. From Kogi to Kaduna, Zamfara to Niger, Benue to parts of the South, countless Nigerians now travel with fear, uncertain whether they will arrive safely at their destinations. Highways that once connected families, businesses, and communities have become corridors of terror.
This is no longer an ordinary crime. It is organised criminal warfare against the Nigerian people.
The response, therefore, must be equally extraordinary. Nigeria must treat kidnapping as a direct assault on national security and confront it with the same seriousness, determination, and national mobilisation that characterised the country’s resolve during the Civil War of 1967–1970. The comparison is not intended to advocate identical military tactics but to underscore the level of commitment, coordination, and urgency that today’s security challenge demands.
An enemy that operates across state boundaries can not be defeated through fragmented operations. What is required is a unified national strategy involving all security and intelligence agencies, supported by state governments, local communities, and cutting-edge technology. Every forest serving as a criminal sanctuary must be systematically dominated. Every identified hideout must become unsafe for kidnappers. Every supply route must be disrupted. Every financier, informant, and collaborator must be identified, apprehended, and made to face the full weight of the law.
If investigations confirm that security personnel are leaking operational information to criminal gangs, then such individuals should not merely face disciplinary measures; they should be prosecuted as enemies of the Nigerian state. There can be no justification for betraying fellow citizens to kidnappers. Such acts, if proven, erode public confidence, prolong the agony of victims and their families, and undermine the sacrifices of thousands of honest security personnel who daily risk their lives in defence of the nation.
Nigeria must also embrace intelligence-driven policing on a far greater scale. Surveillance technology, drones, satellite imagery, communications intelligence, forensic capabilities, and seamless inter-agency collaboration should become central pillars of the nation’s anti-kidnapping strategy. Criminal networks continue to evolve; our security architecture must evolve even faster.
One encouraging reality remains. Nigerian security personnel have repeatedly distinguished themselves in peacekeeping missions across Africa and other parts of the world. Their professionalism, courage, and operational excellence have earned them international respect. That same expertise must now be demonstrated with even greater determination within our own borders. Charity, as the saying goes, begins at home. Nigerians deserve to enjoy the same level of security that our security personnel have helped provide in other nations.
Government alone, however, can not win this battle. Citizens must support security agencies by providing credible intelligence. Traditional rulers, religious leaders, community organisations, and properly regulated local vigilante groups must also work closely with law enforcement agencies within the framework of the law. Defeating kidnapping must become a collective national mission.
For some families, kidnapping is no longer a newspaper headline or a television report. It is a painful, daily reality.
My family is one of them.
My beloved son, James Ayodola Bright Olusola, a 400-level Computer Science student of the University of Lagos, remains missing since May 8, 2025. Like countless other Nigerian families whose loved ones have disappeared into the hands of criminal elements, we live each day by faith with uncertainty, anguish, and hope. Our family’s ordeal is only one among thousands, but it is a solemn reminder that behind every kidnapping statistic is a precious human life, a grieving family, and dreams suspended by violence.
The cost of inaction is simply too high. Every successful abduction weakens public confidence in government, discourages investment, disrupts commerce, damages Nigeria’s international image, and leaves lasting psychological scars on victims and their families. No nation can achieve sustainable development while its citizens live under the constant shadow of abduction.
It is in this spirit that I respectfully appeal to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the National Security Adviser, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the Department of State Services and all heads of Nigeria’s security and intelligence agencies to accord renewed urgency not only to the case of my son but to every unresolved kidnapping case across the country. Every Nigerian life is precious. Every family deserves justice. Every missing person deserves an unrelenting search.
Nigeria has fought wars to preserve its territorial integrity. It must now wage an equally determined war to preserve the safety, freedom, and dignity of its people.
Kidnapping has become Nigeria’s undeclared war.
The time has come to officially declare that enough is enough and to back those words with down-to-earth actions.
For James.
For every missing Nigerian.
For every family waiting, praying, and hoping for a reunion.
The time to act is now.
Philip B. Olusola, PhD, is a Public Affairs Analyst and Academic.
