AN OPEN LETTER: ADDRESSING THE DECADES-LONG SYSTEMIC COLLAPSE OF NATIONAL SECURITY.

The Leadership of the National Assembly,

Three Arms Zone, Federal Capital Territory,

Abuja, Nigeria.

Through:

The President of the Senate,

The Speaker of the House of Representatives.

*AN OPEN LETTER: ADDRESSING THE DECADES-LONG SYSTEMIC COLLAPSE OF NATIONAL SECURITY.*

I. *Introduction.*

For over sixteen years, our nation has transitioned from a state of peace to a theatre of industrial-scale violence. What began with the emergence of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009 has mutated into a multi-headed hydra of terrorism, banditry and a kidnapping-for-ransom economy that has effectively paralyzed our national development. As a concerned citizen and Public Commentator, I write to you today with a heavy heart, fueled by the agonizing cries of Nigerians whose lives and livelihoods are being systematically dismantled by an unrelenting wave of insecurity. Our nation is currently ensnared in a web of terrorism, insurgency, kidnapping and banditry that threatens the very core of our sovereignty and the social contract between the state and its people.

This letter serves as both a formal protest and a desperate plea for the National Assembly to move beyond rhetoric and exercise its constitutional powers to legislate a permanent end to this carnage.

II. *A Chronicle of Unchecked Atrocities (2009–2025).*

The trajectory of our insecurity is marked by blood and displacement across every geopolitical zone. In the Northeast, the insurgency that began in Borno State in July 2009 resulting in over 800 deaths in its initial week has claimed an estimated 35,000 lives to date. This includes the tragic massacre in Baga, Borno State, in January 2015, where hundreds were slaughtered and the persistent attacks in Adamawa and Taraba States, such as the Gombi assault in August 2011 that killed 16 people, including seven policemen.

In the North-West and North-Central, the crisis has shifted from localized skirmishes to "full-blown" banditry. In Zamfara State, where the current wave of banditry first crystallized in 2011, over 638 villages have been sacked. On April 24, 2025, a brutal attack on a mining site in Maru, Zamfara, left 20 miners dead. Similarly, in Katsina and Sokoto States, the emergence of the "Lakurawa" group has introduced a new level of terror; in late 2025, violence linked to this group caused dozens of fatalities and mass displacement across Sokoto and Kebbi States.

The Middle Belt remains a killing field. In Benue State, the carnage reached a fever pitch between June 14 and 16, 2025, when over 150 civilians were killed in Yelwata village, Guma LGA. Plateau State has seen similar devastation, with coordinated attacks in Bokkos and Mangu LGAs in June 2025 leaving 32 dead. My home state of Kogi, alongside Kwara and parts of Kano, has not been spared, increasingly serving as corridors for kidnappers who treat human life as a commodity for ransom. In Niger State, the displacement is total, with bandits now occupying entire local governments, forcing thousands into IDP camps.

III. *The Strategic Shift:* US Intervention and Sovereignty.

The severity of our internal failure was punctuated on Christmas Day 2025, when the United States military conducted kinetic airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Sokoto State. While the Nigerian government characterized this as a "joint operation," the unilateral claims of credit by the US administration and the subsequent delivery of "critical military supplies" in January 2026 highlight a precarious reliance on foreign intervention. This intervention is a stinging indictment of our own inability to secure our borders and protect our citizens. We cannot outsource the fundamental duty of the state to foreign powers indefinitely.

IV. *Proposed Legislative Framework:* The National Security Emergency Bill.

I urge the National Assembly to sponsor a Bill that moves beyond the current "reactionary" model. This legislation must include:

Devolved Security Oversight: Establishing a framework for State-led policing and community-level intelligence units to replace the centralized, slow-response model.

The Kidnapping & Banditry Act: Reclassifying banditry as terrorism under federal law (as initiated in 2022) but with mandatory minimum sentencing and the freezing of assets for those found to be sponsoring ransom payments.

Modern Surveillance Mandate: A statutory requirement for the integration of real-time satellite and drone surveillance across the porous borders of Sokoto, Kebbi and Niger.

Victim Protection and Compensation: Creating a dedicated fund for the survivors of the massacres in Plateau, Benue and Kaduna States to facilitate their return to ancestral lands.

V. *Conclusion.*

Distinguished Members of the National Assembly, the Nigerian people are exhausted. From the uprising in Borno State in 2009 to the airstrikes in Sokoto State in 2025, the story has been one of consistent loss. The "hallowed" nature of your chambers is only maintained if you fulfill the first duty of government: *_the protection of life._*

I therefore write and submit this letter to the hallowed chambers as a blueprint to formally address the existential threat facing the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Let it be the foundation of a Bill that finally restores peace to our troubled land.

Yours Faithfully,

*Abraham Achimugu*

_Public Commentator,_

Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria.