The Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (JMA) has described the recent resurgence of banditry and mass abductions as a calculated attempt to destabilise country.
Speaking during an emergency press briefing in Kaduna, the Chairperson of the JMA Board of Trustees, Mrs. Aishatu Pamela Sadauki, condemned the attacks and called for urgent coordinated action to halt the deteriorating situation.
Mrs. Sadauki decried the waves of vicious attacks sweeping through several northern states, citing the abduction of 25 schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State on November 17, and the mass kidnapping of over 300 students and a dozen teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State, on November 21.
“These tragedies painfully remind us that our children remain extremely vulnerable,” adding that no Nigerian child should ever be snatched from the safety of a classroom. She said.
Mrs. Sadauki noted that similar attacks across Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna, Plateau, and Benue have left families in grief and communities in fear, warning that if insecurity continued unchecked, Nigeria risked sliding into deep instability.
Sadauki stressed that the criminal groups behind the attacks represent no religion or ethnic group. “Their victims cut across every faith and tribe… Any attempt to frame these crimes along religious or ethnic lines is dangerous and misleading,” she said.
While rejecting any form of foreign interference that undermines Nigeria’s sovereignty, the JMA called for enhanced international cooperation, intelligence sharing, and capacity building to support Nigerian security agencies, “but always under Nigeria’s leadership.”
The organisation commended the Nigerian Armed Forces and security agencies for their sacrifices and “remarkable successes” in degrading criminal networks over the last two years. It, however, urged them to intensify intelligence-driven operations to ensure the safe rescue of all abducted victims.
The group also expressed condolences to families of security personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Calling for unity, the JMA urged citizens, traditional rulers, political leaders, and communities to support security agencies with credible information and resources.“This is not the time for political exploitation or divisive rhetoric,” Sadauki said. “Unity is our greatest weapon.”
She reaffirmed JMA’s solidarity with affected families, saying: “As mothers, sisters, and daughters of the North, our hearts bleed with yours.” She prayed for the safe return of all abducted children and lasting peace in Nigeria.
The statement ended with a reaffirmation of loyalty and hope: “Long live the women of Northern Nigeria. Long live Arewa. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
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