Prominent pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately return to the country and personally coordinate Nigeria’s security response amid a surge in terrorist attacks across several states.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Monday, HURIWA said the worsening insecurity, marked by coordinated killings and mass abductions, requires the physical presence of the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
The group warned that remote leadership at such a critical time could further weaken the nation’s counter-terrorism efforts.
HURIWA insisted that if President Tinubu is unable to return immediately, he should formally hand over to Vice President Kashim Shettima to act in his stead. According to the group, decisive leadership at home is essential to restoring momentum in the war against terrorism.
“Where has it ever happened that a man whose house is on fire would be frolicking in foreign lands and expect the fire to be extinguished magically?” the group asked.
HURIWA expressed concern that terrorist activities have expanded beyond traditional hotspots, citing recent attacks in Ondo State in the South-West as evidence that insurgents are intensifying and widening their operations.
The rights group described it as “deeply disturbing” that the President was reportedly attending high-level engagements in France, including social events with other world leaders, while Nigeria was experiencing what it called one of the gravest waves of coordinated terrorist violence in recent times.
HURIWA argued that the President’s physical presence in Nigeria would boost morale within the security services and allow for closer oversight of the nation’s security architecture.
HURIWA strongly condemned the recent spate of attacks in Niger State, Akure in Ondo State, and the prolonged hostage situations in Kwara and Edo States, where terrorists are allegedly demanding huge ransoms for abducted victims. The group claimed that many of the attackers are armed bandits operating from forest enclaves.
The organisation expressed shock over reports that at least 42 people were killed in attacks on communities in Agwara and Borgu Local Government Areas of Niger State, with many others, including children, abducted.
HURIWA questioned the effectiveness of security operations in the state, recalling recent assurances by the National Security Adviser that terrorists were being actively pursued following the rescue of over 300 school children abducted from a Catholic school in the same state.
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According to HURIWA, the fresh attacks raise troubling questions about intelligence gathering, continuity of security deployments, and overall military strategy.
The group accused the heads of security agencies of grave negligence, alleging that communities in Agwara were attacked repeatedly for over a week without resistance.
Residents reportedly told journalists that gunmen overran several villages before abducting pupils and students from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwara LGA. HURIWA described the repeated attack on the same Catholic school as an “absolutely intolerable failure” of the government to protect vulnerable children.
Confirming the incidents, the Director of Communications of the Catholic Church in Kontagora Diocese, Stephen Kabirat, said over 40 people were killed, villagers abducted, and church property destroyed.
He disclosed that the parish priest narrowly escaped abduction when terrorists attacked the mission house, destroying religious items, stealing motorcycles, and carting away cash.
The Niger State Police Command spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, also confirmed the attacks, stating that bandits invaded Kasuwan Daji in Borgu LGA, burning the market, looting shops, and killing several residents. He said joint security teams had been deployed and rescue efforts were ongoing.
In its statement, HURIWA criticised what it described as “telephone command leadership” of the security forces and demanded accountability from the heads of security agencies. The group questioned how armed non-state actors could operate freely, dictate ransom demands, and terrorise citizens in multiple states without decisive consequences.
The National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, further questioned Nigeria’s sovereignty, asking why no senior security officials have been held accountable for repeated failures.
He also raised concerns over the continued service of the Inspector-General of Police, whom he described as being beyond the statutory retirement age.
HURIWA concluded by urging the Federal Government to immediately overhaul its security strategy, deploy modern surveillance technologies, and demonstrate clear political will to decisively confront and defeat terrorism across the country.