By Peter.
Nigeria’s Federal Civil Service is reeling from a brazen abduction that has left senior officials and their colleagues in a state of heightened anxiety, while in Nasarawa State, fresh bandit violence has claimed the lives of three young men from the Migili ethnic group, fueling desperate pleas for international intervention. These incidents, unfolding within 24 hours of each other, underscore the relentless grip of insecurity on the nation’s roadways and rural frontiers, prompting urgent calls for systemic reforms.
Abduction of Six Defence Ministry Directors: A Coordinated Highway Ambush
On Monday, November 10, 2025, six female Directors from the Federal Ministry of Defence—en route from Lagos to Abuja for a critical directorate-level promotion examination—were seized in a meticulously planned ambush by unidentified gunmen along the notorious Kabba-Lokoja highway in Kogi State. The victims, all affiliated with the Command Day Secondary School (CDSS) in Ojo, Lagos, were identified by the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) as Mrs. Ngozi Ibeziakor, Mrs. C. A. Emeribe, Mrs. Helen Ezeakor, Mrs. C. A. Ladoye, Mrs. J. A. Onwuzurike, and Mrs. Catherine Essien.
In a joint statement, ASCSN President Shehu Mohammed and Secretary-General Joshua Apebo decried the attack as a stark reminder of the perils facing public servants on official travel, vowing that “efforts are underway to secure the victims’ swift release.” The union highlighted the Defence Ministry’s mobilization of specialized security teams, in coordination with Kogi State law enforcement, to scour forested hideouts along the corridor—a route long plagued by kidnappings and banditry.
ASCSN renewed its longstanding advocacy for decentralizing promotion exams to regional centers, arguing that the Federal Civil Service Commission’s insistence on Abuja venues, combined with deteriorating road infrastructure and pervasive threats, needlessly endangers lives. The ripple effects have reverberated through the ministry and beyond, amplifying fears among civil servants and stalling routine operations as colleagues grapple with the trauma of the high-profile snatch.
Nasarawa Banditry: Three Migili Youths Slain in Errand-Turned-Tragedy
Compounding the national unease, suspected bandits struck again in Nasarawa State, executing three Migili youths from Duduguru in the Jenkwe development area of Keana Local Government Area on November 10, 2025. The victims, dispatched by clan elders to relay news of an elder statesman’s passing to relatives in a neighboring community, were ambushed along the Gidan-Raid Road in Kwara, within Keana LGA. Among them was Prince James Delle Iwala, son of the late HRH Chief Jonathan Gule Iwala, a revered Migili traditional ruler who passed in March 2024; his companions were identified as Tailor Gayu and another local youth.
This assault follows a chilling pattern: Just two days prior, on November 8, bandits raided nearby Sarkin Noma in a nighttime blitz, gunning down two youths and abducting a third, who remains in captivity. The killings, defying Governor Abdullahi Sule’s recent vows of decisive action against perpetrators, have ignited fury and grief, culminating in a mass burial for the Duduguru trio on Tuesday morning amid tearful gatherings.
Desperate Cries for Trump-Led Intervention
In a surreal twist born of exasperation, distraught residents and sympathizers at the burial site beseeched U.S. President Donald Trump—amid his administration’s hawkish rhetoric on global terrorism—to prioritize Nasarawa in any potential strikes against Nigerian insurgents, viewing it as a potential panacea to the “senseless killings ravaging communities.” While some voices decry the notion as reckless, others, including human rights lawyer Ayiwulu Baba Ayiwulu, decry local safe havens in Kwara, Kadarko, and Doma axes allegedly used by Fulani-linked terrorists to launch cross-border raids into Nasarawa and Benue States. The appeals reflect a profound erosion of faith in domestic security apparatus, as recent highway blockades by irate youths in Keana underscore the human cost of unchecked banditry.
These back-to-back horrors have amplified demands for bolstered patrols, decentralized federal processes, and collaborative anti-crime strategies, as Nigeria confronts the dual specters of urban-rural insecurity threatening its social fabric.
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