Barring any last-minute change of plan, the Northern Governors? Forum will hold a crucial meeting today (Saturday) in Kaduna in response to the rising killings across the region.

The Director-General, Press Affairs, Gombe Government House, Ismaila Misilli, who confirmed the development, said the NGF Chairman and Governor of Gombe State, Muhammad Yahaya, convened the meeting.

?It will be held in Kaduna, and security will top the agenda. Barring any last-minute change, they have already decided to have the meeting. But I wouldn?t call it an emergency meeting,? Misilli stated.

This comes as findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that no fewer than 133 Nigerians have been reported killed in fresh attacks across the northern region in the last two weeks.

Recall that a joint meeting of the NGF and the Northern Traditional Rulers Council was held in Kaduna in October 2023 to address the region?s pressing security and developmental challenges.

The meeting, which took place at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House in Kaduna, was attended by Nigeria?s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa.

On April 20, 2025, Saturday PUNCH reported that despite sustained efforts by northern governors and the military, no fewer than 250 people were killed within two weeks in attacks that ravaged key northern states, including Plateau, Benue, Borno, and Katsina.

The attacks were attributed in part to the emergence of a new terror group, Mahmuda, also known as the Mallam Group.

Their rise has compounded existing security threats from Boko Haram, ISWAP, Lakurawa, and other militia groups.

However, our correspondents gathered that between April 24 and Wednesday, May 7, no fewer than 133 more people were reported killed.

The most recent incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, May 7, when Boko Haram terrorists killed an army captain and a soldier in Izge community, Gwoza Local Government Area, Borno State.

The Emir of Gwoza, HRH Alhaji Mohammed Shehu Timta, confirmed that the terrorists invaded the community around 1am, engaged the troops in a gun duel, as three military officers were killed during the encounter.

Just hours earlier, on Tuesday evening, May 6, gunmen suspected to be armed herders killed a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Akaabo Johnson, alongside three others, in coordinated attacks on Mbatsada communities in Mbalom and Mbasombo wards, Gwer East LGA, Benue State.

The Chairman of Gwer East LGA, Timothy Adi, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview, describing it as an unprovoked attack.

On Sunday, May 4, no fewer than 25 people were killed in a deadly confrontation between suspected bandits and local vigilantes in Alkaleri LGA, Bauchi State.

That same morning, 19 people were killed during a suspected bandit ambush and livestock rustling in Gwana district, also in Bauchi State, according to the state police command.

On Friday, May 2, fighters affiliated with the Islamic State group killed at least 11 soldiers during an attack on a military base in Yobe State, according to military sources.

On Thursday, May 1, suspected Lakurawa terrorists ambushed seasonal hunters in Hurumi Forest, Talewa ward, Tangaza LGA, Sokoto State, killing 13 hunters between 12 noon and 1pm.

Earlier on Monday, April 28, Boko Haram militants attacked Kwaple village, a predominantly Christian community in Chibok County, Borno State, killing seven Christians and razing homes and churches, according to a resident, James Musa.

That same day, a truck hit an improvised explosive device near the Cameroon border in Borno State, killing at least 26 men, women, and children, according to the military and eyewitnesses.

A resident, Ismail Hassan, told Reuters that the attackers opened fire on miners, leading to a fierce gun battle.

Northern governors? meeting

In mid-April, Misilli told The PUNCH that Governor Yahaya had begun consulting other northern governors for a ?joint approach? to the region?s worsening insecurity.

Speaking on Thursday, he said the outcome of those consultations would be made known after the Saturday meeting.

?I wouldn?t want to pre-empt them, but the meeting on Saturday will answer your question. Let?s wait for their communiqu?,? he said.

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State, Ibrahim Mohammed, confirmed that his principal, who heads chair the North-West Governors? Forum, would attend the meeting.

?He will be there because he is the chairman of the North-West Governors? Forum. I don?t know the agenda,? he said on Thursday.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that the meeting, which would take place at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House in Kaduna, would bring together governors from the 19 Northern states.

Our correspondents also learnt that the meeting would focus on the resurgence of Boko Haram attacks in the northeast parts of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states, as well as security challenges in the North-West.

?The governors will likely discuss ways to enhance security measures and protect the lives and property of citizens in the region.

?We are disturbed by the security challenges in our region, and we need to come together to find solutions,? said a source close to the NGF Secretariat on Friday.

According to the source, the meeting is the first in 2025.

Saturday PUNCH also gathered that before the NGF meeting, the secretaries to the various state governors in the region met on Friday as a prelude to the governors? meeting.

Also, before the Saturday meeting, the North-West governors, comprising seven states of Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara, would meet on Friday night.

An invite for press coverage of that meeting by Malam Ibraheem Musa, Chief Press Secretary to Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, read, ?Good day colleagues, North-West Governors will be holding a meeting at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House today (Friday) at 10pm. So sorry for the short notice. Thanks.?

Coalition to submit report

Meanwhile, the Coalition of Northern Groups has said it will submit a security document to the forum at the NGF?s meeting.

The CNG National Coordinator, Jamilu Charanchi, in an interview with our correspondent on Friday, added that the drafted document also spelled out the roles expected of every stakeholder in the security sector.

He stated, ?We are aware of the meeting because we previously presented a paper on the challenges of insecurity in Northern Nigeria at the governors? meeting last October.

?The new draft we are submitting includes solutions to the security problems and the roles expected of the governors, traditional rulers, the Office of the National Security Adviser, and the Presidency. It also contains timelines for these activities. We will submit the file at the NGF meeting.?

Charanchi noted that the coalition in January held a security roundtable in Abuja chaired by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), and attended by many eminent personalities from Northern Nigeria.

He said the new submission would also contain the outcome of the group?s engagement with retired security chiefs because ?insecurity is not a one-man issue and requires collective effort.?

Foreign herders

Recall that on Thursday, the Defence Headquarters attributed the recent spate of violent attacks on communities in Benue, Plateau and other parts of the country to foreign herders who had infiltrated the country through porous borders.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Markus Kangye, said the identities and languages of the assailants helped security forces confirm that many of the attackers were not Nigerians.

However, the Northern coalition coordinator dismissed the DHQ?s claim as mere rhetoric, accusing its leadership of politicising the region?s security situation.

Charanchi said, ?The Defence Headquarters has already politicised the issue of insecurity in Northern Nigeria. They need to take the matter seriously. The era of rhetoric must end. Nigerians are tired of empty statements. They want the DHQ to take action now. We believe our military can handle the situation.

?Recall that our troops performed exceptionally well during peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Liberia, and other countries. So, what is happening in Nigeria? Is it that we lack military capacity? Is it that we lack the will? Is our armoury inferior to that of the bandits and terrorists? The answer is no.?

Similarly, the Executive Director of the Civil Liberties Organisation (Northern Region), Steve Aluko, expressed concern over the inconsistent narratives and inadequate responses of security agencies to the ongoing violence in Plateau State.

Aluko, while highlighting discrepancies between statements from the National Security Adviser and the Defence Headquarters, stated, ?Not too long ago, the National Security Adviser said it is a community versus community issue, especially the one on the Plateau. They say it was a communal clash. And how come the Defence Headquarters is saying a different thing??

He further criticised the lack of effective action from security forces, noting that both the Plateau and Benue State governors had reported that over 80 communities were occupied by illegal elements.

?What have they done to purge those communities and to make sure that the right people are there?

?Most recently, the President has also said that in line with ECOWAS, they will dismantle these bottlenecks. So, is that a licence to allow them (bandits) to come into the country freely?? he queried.

Emphasising the need for a coordinated national security strategy, Aluko said, ?It looks both contradictory, and the best they can do is to seek synergy and make sure that they address the problem as a national security challenge.?

He advocated functional local government autonomy to empower traditional rulers and local communities in addressing security challenges. (Saturday PUNCH)

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