Nigeria’s president declares emergency and beefs up forces following abductions

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday declared a nationwide emergency following two mass abductions of schoolchildren and a spate of attacks against civilians.

Tinubu said the government will recruit 20,000 additional police officers, raising the total to 50,000. He also authorized the intelligence service to deploy forest guards to protect remote areas from armed groups.

“My fellow Nigerians, this is a national emergency, and we are responding by deploying more boots on the ground, especially in security-challenged areas,” he said in a statement. The constitution allows the president to declare emergency during national crises.

Recent attacks by armed groups and threats from U.S. President Donald Trump have heaped pressure on Nigeria. Last week, gunmen took 25 students in Kebbi state and more than 300 in Niger state. Those abducted from Kebbi were rescued and united with their parents, while there is an ongoing search for the others.

Trump’s claims of persecution of Christians and threat of “guns-a-blazing” intervention have highlighted the critical security crises in the country.

Tinubu also called for enhanced protection in schools, churches and mosques in remote areas to deter attacks. Analysts say Tinubu’s plan for more boots on the ground may not be enough to reverse the tide of insecurity.

“I don’t think it goes far enough. This is because the ruling elites are yet to awaken to the major reality that the issue has gone beyond throwing bodies at the problem in terms of recruitment for the security forces,” Confidence McHarry, a senior security analyst at SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based geopolitical consultancy, told The Associated Press.

He said the hiring initiative is likely to fail without addressing the root causes of conflicts, like government accountability, local grievances and welfare of troops.

Multiple armed groups operate across Nigeria, including religious sects like Boko Haram and its splinter group, Islamic State West Africa Province, and others who attack mainly for money.

The last time a state of emergency was declared for insecurity was in 2013 in Nigeria’s northeast region to address an emerging threat from terrorist groups.

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Associated Press writer Ope Adetayo contributed to this report.