By John Umeh
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered a full-scale security lockdown across major forest corridors in Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger States as Nigeria grapples with a renewed wave of kidnappings and terrorist incursions.
The President directed the Nigerian Air Force to deploy continuous 24-hour aerial surveillance, supported by ground forces stationed across vulnerable communities. The operation is expected to maintain real-time communication between air assets and troops on the ground to fast-track rescue missions and disrupt criminal hideouts.
The directive was announced on Tuesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, via his X handle.
Aerial Operation to Sweep Deep Forest Zones
According to Dare, the President specifically tasked the Air Force with patrolling “the deepest stretches of the forests” believed to be shelters for heavily armed kidnap syndicates and terror cells.
He added that the aerial cordon would extend across multiple axes of the affected states to support joint operations aimed at locating abducted victims and dismantling criminal networks.
The Federal Government urged residents in the three states to provide timely intelligence on suspicious movement, noting that community cooperation will be critical to restoring stability.
Kidnapping Crisis Spreads Across Three States
The move comes amid a dramatic spike in coordinated attacks across Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger — a trend that has exposed vast ungoverned spaces exploited by criminal groups.
Kebbi State: School Attacks and Mass Abductions
On 17 November 2025, armed men stormed a girls’ boarding school in Maga, kidnapping 25 students and killing the vice principal. This followed the abduction of over 40 women and children from a farm days earlier.
Kwara State: Terror Group ‘Mahmuda’ Intensifies Assaults
In Kwara, the terror faction known as Mahmuda has escalated violence around the Kainji Lake region, targeting villages and churches.
– Eruku village lost 38 worshippers to mass abduction.
– In Kemanji, over 15 vigilantes were killed in clashes with the group.
ACLED data shows 177 kidnapping incidents and 207 fatalities recorded in Kwara within the first ten months of 2025.
Niger State: Over 300 Students Seized
On 21 November, gunmen attacked St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwara LGA, abducting more than 300 students and staff. Fifty students later escaped.
The UN condemned the abductions, faulting the reopening of vulnerable schools despite known threats. Human Rights Watch also demanded urgent action to protect children in high-risk zones.
Niger State police had earlier rescued 35 abducted persons — including 16 women and 19 children — from dense forest areas during separate operations.
Expanding Networks and Fractured Security
Security analysts warn that the movements of groups like Mahmuda across the three states signal an expanding footprint of criminal alliances exploiting forest belts and porous borders.
Farms, schools, places of worship, and transit routes have become soft targets, leaving communities exposed despite ongoing military deployments.
What Tinubu’s Order Means
The President’s directive marks one of the most aggressive aerial security responses this year and is expected to:
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Seal off forest escape routes
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Support rescue efforts for kidnapped victims
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Apply pressure on terror cells and bandits
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Provide air-to-ground intelligence for rapid response teams
For now, communities wait to see whether the new round-the-clock aerial operation will slow the rising wave of abductions that has plunged parts of the North-Central and North-West into fear.
