- Liborous Oshoma asks, ‘Is civilian rule becoming a curse?‘
Bandits who abducted 38 worshippers from Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Eruku, in the Ekiti local government area of Kwara State, have demanded ₦100 million ransom for each victim, bringing the total demand to a staggering ₦3.8 billion.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the kidnappers have begun contacting families of the abductees, who were seized during a church service on Tuesday evening.
A community leader and Olori Eta of Eruku, Chief Olusegun Olukotun, whose four relatives are among the kidnapped victims, confirmed the development on Thursday.
Olukotun, who narrowly escaped the attack with one of his wards after jumping through a church window at about 6:06 p.m., said the kidnappers have already started calling community members to announce their demands.
“From what we gathered from the kidnappers’ camp, they have grouped the victims according to their family ties and are now calling our people through each group,” he explained.
“Some community members have received calls demanding ₦100 million for each person. I have not received a call about my own people yet, but I am waiting.”
He expressed gratitude to government officials, particularly Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for their prompt concern following the attack. He, however, appealed for more security deployment in Eruku—a border community vulnerable to repeated incursions.
Olukotun also urged authorities to strengthen local vigilante groups with modern combat-grade equipment to match the firepower of the bandits.
Parents of Kebbi Schoolgirls: ‘We Are in Trauma’
Meanwhile, in Kebbi State, parents of the 25 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, say they are living in crippling fear over the fate of their daughters.
Malam Tukur Zakiru Maga, father of 17-year-old SS3 student Surayya Tukur, said his family has been unable to sleep or eat since the incident.
“I and her mother cannot sleep well or eat. We are in trauma, fear, and panic, thinking if my daughter is still alive,” he said.
Surayya’s mother, overwhelmed by emotion, pleaded with the government to rescue their children.
“Oh, my daughter Surayya… may God save you and rescue you from these bandits,” she cried.
Another parent, Malam Nazifi Salihu Maga, whose 12-year-old daughter Khadija is among the victims, echoed the anguish.
“I am in serious pain and coma over the abduction of my daughter and others. I plead with the federal and state governments to help bring back our daughters,” he said.
According to Malam Tukur, authorities have deployed a significant military presence in the area.
“As part of government efforts, we have seen more than fifty armoured vehicles belonging to the Nigerian Army and scores of heavily armed troops in all areas where we suspect bandits may be hiding,” he noted.
The kidnappings have drawn widespread condemnation, with Kebbi State Governor, Dr. Nasir Idris, visiting the community to offer sympathy and reaffirm government commitment to rescuing the girls.
Then Dr Liborous Oshoma Esq., a Lagos-based legal practitioner, asks, “Is civilian rule becoming a curse?“
This is the uncomfortable question Nigerians have begun to whisper. Under military regimes, for all their faults, certain lines were uncrossable: killing a top military commander or abducting dozens of students would have triggered immediate, forceful, and coordinated state response. Today’s democracy, sadly, hides behind the rhetoric of “due process” to mask a crippling indecision.
But make no mistake — the problem is not democracy itself; it is the quality of leadership operating it. A civilian government can be strong, responsive, disciplined, and emotionally alert. But a civilian government can also be aloof, numb, and dangerously distracted.
Nigeria today is testing the limits of the latter…
President Tinubu must decide urgently whether he wants to be a leader who responds to the nation’s heartbeat or a spectator in his own presidency. A country where generals are assassinated, girls are abducted, ministers behave like touts, and the presidency maintains criminal silence is a country flirting with collapse.
Nigeria is not asking for miracles. Nigerians are simply asking for responsiveness, leadership, and the dignity of a government that does not behave like it is sedated.
If the president reacts to nothing, the nation will soon feel everything including the consequences of that silence.
