The Governors of 19 Northern States are to hold an emergency meeting on November 29, 2025, in Kaduna.
The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, Peter Ahemba, disclosed this in Lafia, the state capital, on Monday.
Ahemba said the meeting would discuss how to take concrete steps towards addressing the surge in kidnapping, banditry and other forms of security threats in the region.
“For Nasarawa State, the Governor, who happens to be the Chairman of the North Central Governors Forum, had to cut short his trip from the G20 Summit that is going on in South Africa, to come back immediately and attend to the security challenges in some states of the northern part of the country.
“In line with that, His Excellency had to convene yet another emergency security meeting this afternoon, being Monday, the 24th of November 2025. So, the meeting deliberated on how to prevent the escalation of insecurity, the banditry activities that are being witnessed in some parts of the country, to strengthen surveillance measures and also enhance the support to security agencies to effectively tackle any eventual situation that may occur.
“So far so good, these are the efforts being made by both the Northern Governors Forum and Nasarawa State as a government.”
Ahemba said “The Nasarawa State government is on a red alert. The security agencies are on red alert because of what is happening within the neighbourhood. So, the government is not resting, and I can assure you that the security agencies are well equipped to respond.’’
The South-West governors also held their meeting on Monday where they reiterated their call for a state police, saying this was the best time to introdyuce state police I throughout the country.
They also called on the Federal Government to urgently secure the forest across the region and vast forest belts that have become hideouts for the criminal elements.
Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo) and Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti) personally attended the meeting, except Ademola Adeleke of Osun state, who was represented by his deputy.
Governor Sanwo-Olu who read the communique after the meeting said the forum reviewed the current state of security in the region and reaffirmed its support for the establishment of state police, emphasising that “the time is now and it can no longer be delayed.’’
The governors also called on all the South-West people to remain united and committed to the peace that exists in the region, adding that “We remain one, indivisible entity that will continue to enjoy and guard the religious tolerance that we have always been known.’’
It would be recalled that in very recent days, bandits stormed a government girls college, killed a security guard before abducting 303 female students and 12 staff while four days later, bandits invaded a Catholic Church and kidnapped 50 worshippers in Eruku Community in Ekiti Local Government Are of Kwara State.
This has forced the Federal Government to close down its 43 Unity schools across the country while Bauchi, Niger, Kwara, Yobe and Katsina state governments had closed down both private and public schools. In some instances, FG-owned tertiary institutions were closed for fear of students falling victim to kidnappers.
