Northern Governors, NSA, and Service Chiefs Convene to Discuss Kidnapping

Meeting with the Northern Governors’ Forum and service chiefs, including the Inspector General of Police and the Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, was called by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, in response to the increasing number of kidnapping and abduction cases in the nation.

The meeting, which took place behind closed doors in Abuja on Thursday, continued for more than four hours. Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, who serves as the forum’s chairman, addressed the meeting’s conclusions after it concluded.

He made an announcement on the forum’s intentions to look into other ways to stop the rising unrest in the north.

The governor further stated that the military’s non-kinetic strategy to reduce insurgency will have his backing.

Roughly 300 pupils were kidnapped last week from a school in Kuriga, a community in Kaduna State’s Chikun Local Government Area.

The military promised to free all hostages at an independent press conference.

Military officials in Borno State’s Gamboru-Ngala claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, saying the victims had wandered too far from the camp.

Another source stating that security services and other responders are unable to react quickly enough is Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations.