The Northern Nigeria Christian Youth Network (NNCYN) has expressed deep concern over the rising insecurity across the country, urging the Federal Government and security agencies to take urgent and decisive steps to curb what it described as escalating terrorism and criminality.

In a statement issued on Friday and signed by its National Coordinator, Lawrence Samaila, the group said persistent attacks by terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers have turned many communities into danger zones, with northern states particularly affected.

The NNCYN noted that communities in Plateau, Kaduna—especially Southern Kaduna—Benue, Niger, Kwara, and Kogi States have suffered repeated assaults, resulting in loss of lives, displacement of residents, and destruction of property.

According to the statement, recent incidents have heightened fears nationwide, including the abduction and killing of a senior military officer and three others by terrorists linked to Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), as well as the kidnapping of 64 people in Tsafe Local Government Area.

It also condemned attacks on education and worship centres, citing the abduction of about 25 female students from a Government Girls Secondary School in Kebbi State—where a vice principal was reportedly killed—and the kidnapping of 38 church worshippers in Kwara State. Additionally, the group referenced the abduction of 15 persons, including nursing mothers and infants, in Sabon Birni, Sokoto State, where two people were reported killed.

The NNCYN cautioned against interpreting the insecurity “strictly through a religious lens,” emphasizing that the violence is better understood as terrorism and organized criminality. It stressed that both Christians and Muslims have been victims of these attacks, and warned that framing the situation as a religious conflict could deepen divisions and undermine efforts to achieve lasting peace.

Calling for a coordinated national response, the group urged the Federal Government to strengthen security agencies through better funding, modern equipment, enhanced intelligence gathering, and proactive operations.

It also appealed to traditional rulers, religious leaders, local communities, and the international community for deeper collaboration, including support for community-based security initiatives, intelligence sharing, technological assistance, and capacity building to counter transnational threats.

While pledging its support for genuine government efforts to restore peace, the NNCYN urged political actors allegedly benefiting from violence to refrain from actions that could worsen the crisis, stressing that accountability would eventually be served.

The statement concluded by affirming the group’s readiness to mobilize its members across Northern Nigeria in support of peacebuilding and community policing initiatives, noting that insecurity is a national challenge requiring unity beyond ethnic, religious, and political divides. (Vanguard)