Friends of Nigeria Europe expresses deep concern over the recurring incidents of kidnappings, violent attacks, and killings reported across parts of Nigeria.

These incidents are more than security headlines. They represent families in grief, children kept away from school, communities living in fear, and citizens whose dignity and right to safety must be protected. Recent reports have shown the continued scale of abductions and violent attacks, including cases involving schoolchildren, rural communities, worshippers, travellers, and displaced persons.

As a diaspora organisation committed to Nigeria’s progress, international partnerships, investment, and shared prosperity, we believe that peace and security remain the foundation upon which development, education, enterprise, and national confidence are built. FON’s work has consistently promoted strategic partnerships, public-private dialogue, diaspora engagement, and stronger economic ties between Nigeria, France, and Europe.

We stand in solidarity with families who have lost loved ones, communities affected by violence, and all Nigerians living with the trauma and uncertainty created by insecurity.

At this critical moment, we call on all relevant government stakeholders, security institutions, state and local authorities, traditional and community leaders, civil society, faith leaders, and development partners to strengthen coordination and rise to the urgency of the moment.

We urge renewed action in the protection of vulnerable communities, safe access to education and livelihoods, timely rescue and support for victims, and stronger accountability for perpetrators. Recent incidents, including attacks on schools and communities, continue to demonstrate how insecurity disrupts education, commerce, agriculture, mobility, investment, and everyday life.

We also call on relevant stakeholders to give urgent attention to ongoing constitutional and legislative efforts aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture, including reforms that would enable more effective state and community-level participation in policing and security management. In a country as vast and diverse as Nigeria, empowering states and local communities with the legal authority, capacity, resources, and coordination required to respond to local security realities can help improve intelligence gathering, rapid response, accountability, and public trust.

At the same time, we recognise that security reform must be implemented with strong safeguards, professionalism, oversight, and respect for human rights. Long-term security must go beyond emergency response. It must include prevention, community trust-building, youth inclusion, local intelligence, justice, and practical development interventions that address the conditions that allow violence and criminality to thrive.

Nigeria remains a nation of immense promise. Its people are resilient, creative, and determined. But that promise can only be fully realised when citizens feel safe in their homes, schools, farms, places of worship, roads, and communities.

FON therefore calls for collective responsibility, urgent action, and sustained commitment to protecting lives, restoring public confidence, and preserving the future of Nigeria.

Signed:

Management Board – Friends of Nigeria (FON)

11 June, 2026