In recent weeks, Nigeria has been hit by a wave of kidnappings: schoolchildren, worshippers, churchgoers, and other victims from different communities across states like Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, and more. A headline incident: Security operatives freed all 24 schoolgirls abducted from a government girls’ school in Kebbi some 15 hours ago.
These kidnappings and mass abductions aren’t new. In fact, Nigeria has struggled with banditry and mass abduction for decades. It was in 2014 that Boko Haram kidnapped more than 250 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State, and security operatives never rescued them. But what many Nigerians have noticed is that the surge seems to have intensified right after the United States, under President Donald Trump, declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) over religious and security issues, even threatening possible military intervention if the situation didn’t improve.
You cannot blame Trump too, because allowing terrorism to continue like that for decades, is a sure sign that the government cannot keep its own citizens safe. It shows a country that has lost its grip on security.
If FG intends to use this to show that “the government can’t protect its own people,” then nothing says “we can” quite like rescuing victims, won’t you agree? Indeed, recent days did see a series of rescue announcements from the government, and all of them were recent victims, not older unresolved cases.
But here’s where things get strange.
Rescued — but no arrests, no suspects named
According to official statements, the rescued victims (schoolgirls, worshippers) were freed, and the government emphasized that no ransom was paid. Yet, no media source reported a single arrest. No names of suspected kidnappers. No weapons seized. Not even a general location of where these criminals that they caught.
That raises serious doubts. It’s difficult to believe that federal security forces — often criticised for lack of capacity, intelligence failures, and slow response — suddenly tracked down kidnappers with such precision, freed dozens of hostages, and yet didn’t arrest a single person.
Equally hard to accept is the notion that armed criminals, who went through the effort of kidnapping people, would all retreat the moment security forces approached – without negotiation, without ransom demand, without resistance.
It looks, at least to many Nigerians, staged. The timing, the silence on arrests, and the lack of evidence or follow-up suggest the possibility that these are not genuine rescue operations, or at least not complete ones.
Let’s Say It’s Not Staged, What Does That Say About Past Kidnappings?
Let’s assume for a moment that these rescues are real, no-ransom operations. Then the question becomes: Why haven’t security operatives rescued earlier victims? Why have hundreds, even thousands, remained in captivity for years with little or no sign of being freed?
According to one detailed report, between July 2022 and June 2023 alone, terrorists abducted 3,620 people across 582 kidnapping cases in Nigeria. The vast majority of them remain missing.
If the security apparatus suddenly can rescue mass-kidnapping victims effectively — as recent headlines claim — then why hasn’t FG applied this capability consistently before now?
This inconsistency of rescuing some victims and ignoring or leaving others, suggests selective application of security resources. It begs the question: Are we dealing with justice, or optics?
Could The Spike and Rescues be Linked to Political Pressure?
It’s no secret that labeling Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” by the US stirred fear and embarrassment among Nigerian authorities. After that declaration came renewed international scrutiny, possible sanctions, and pressure on bilateral ties. All these indicate a potential dent in the government’s legitimacy.
Hence, a wave of kidnappings followed by quick “rescues” might serve as a PR exercise: a dramatic show of “see, we rescued them,” to justify claims that Nigeria can protect its citizens after all.
It’s not implausible. Governments have often politicized security crises. The sudden timing, the lack of public evidence, and the absence of arrests feed into the suspicion that these “rescues” may be more about image management than real resolution.
How Can Nigerians Trust in Federal Institutions?
For young Nigerians, this back-and-forth between horror and relief is psychologically exhausting. The insecurity doesn’t feel like a fading problem anymore; it feels like a game: one moment you watch news of abduction, the next moment of sudden release. Trust in security institutions erodes. Fear becomes part of daily life.
For young professionals, this uncertainty impacts mobility, mental health, and long-term planning. Will you travel for work? Attend a job interview far from home? Or send children to school? The fear of kidnappings is no longer remote, it’s now mainstream.
More dangerously, when people believe that security operatives rescue some victims silently and abandon others, it sends a message: your safety depends not on justice, but on luck or political interest.
How Can the Government Regain Its Credibility?
If Nigeria’s government and security agencies are serious about ending the kidnapping crisis, they must do more than conduct isolated rescue operations. They must publicly prosecute kidnappers so citizens see that justice means consequences. FG must orchestrate the release of all hostages, both past and present. Anything else will ring hollow. Rescue without arrest is not justice. It might even encourage more kidnappings if kidnappers suspect they’ll just let go when “pressured.”
When Rescue Becomes Optics, Trust is Broken
Insecurity in Nigeria has become more unpredictable — and perhaps more politicised — than ever. The recent spike in kidnappings, followed by sudden, unexplained rescues, invites more questions than it answers. For many young Nigerians, this new cycle has replaced one fear with another: not just the fear of being kidnapped, but the fear of who gets rescued, who gets forgotten, and why.
If Nigeria must show the world it can protect its citizens, then real, consistent, transparent security efforts are the only way — not selective rescues that fit headlines. Until that becomes the norm rather than the exception, many will remain skeptical. And rightly so.
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