By Charles Pemu 
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on security across northern Nigeria, following what it described as a total breakdown of law and order in the region.
The Forum’s demand comes in the wake of the brutal killing of over 20 soldiers in an ambush by terrorists in Bangi, Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State. In a statement on Saturday, NEF spokesperson, Professor Abubakar Jiddere, expressed deep anguish over the incident, which he said reflects the “collapse of governance” and “a declaration of war against the Nigerian state.”
“More than 20 uniformed men, defenders of the nation, were slaughtered like animals by a gang of well-armed terrorists who launched a brazen, coordinated ambush that completely overwhelmed the base,” Jiddere said.
Describing the killings as part of a wider pattern of escalating violence, he noted that Northern Nigeria is currently “under siege.” He pointed to a series of deadly attacks across several states including Benue, Plateau, Kwara, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Borno, and Niger throughout June 2025.
“What we are witnessing is not mere insecurity. It is an unrelenting campaign of terror, mass murder, and state failure,” he said. “Entire communities are being wiped out, homes torched, lives shattered—and still, the killers roam freely, unchallenged and unpunished.”
The Forum criticised what it termed the government’s “abysmal and consistent” failure to protect lives and property, accusing the federal authorities of watching from a distance while northern communities are “drowning in blood.”
Rejecting what it called “hollow condolences and tired speeches,” the NEF demanded aggressive military and intelligence operations aimed at locating and eliminating every terrorist threat in the region.
“The blood of Northern Nigerians is not cheap. Our soldiers are not cannon fodder. Our citizens will not continue to die silently while a complacent government watches,” the statement read.
NEF warned that continued inaction by the federal government could trigger open resistance, stressing that the patience of the people has worn thin.
“The legitimacy of any government that cannot or will not protect its citizens is gone. Enough is enough. We will not be silent. The North will not kneel before terror,” it concluded.