The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has condemned the abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi State and the killing of military officers in Borno, describing the incidents as further evidence of rising insecurity across the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, NBA General Secretary Mobolaji Ojibara said the association was alarmed by the abduction of 25 schoolgirls from Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Bagudo Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
Armed attackers reportedly invaded the school hostel Sunday night, killed the school’s vice principal, Malami Hassan Yakubu Makuku and engaged security operatives in a gunfight before fleeing with the students.
The NBA said the attack reflects a long-running pattern of mass abductions and unchecked violence in northern Nigeria.
The association also referenced the killing of Brigadier-General M. Uba, who died on Monday after Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, fighters ambushed troops in Borno State. The officer’s death came shortly after another ambush in the same region that claimed the lives of several soldiers.
“These terrorists are not only attacking unarmed civilians; they are now openly targeting members of the armed forces,” the statement said.
The NBA further noted a recent Department of State Services, DSS, intelligence alert warning of planned ISWAP operations in Ondo and Kogi States, describing the development as a serious security concern.
NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, urged the Federal Government to launch a time-bound rescue operation for the abducted schoolgirls and order a public inquiry into the security lapses that led to the ambush that killed Brigadier-General Uba and other troops.
He also called for the prosecution of all collaborators and financiers of terrorism and pressed for full implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative in vulnerable areas.
Osigwe paid tribute to the teacher killed during the Kebbi school attack and to the fallen military personnel.
He said the worsening security situation demands immediate and coordinated government action.