Social activist and skit maker, Debo Adebayo, popularly known as Mr Macaroni, has criticised President Bola Tinubu over the rising cases of terrorism and mass abductions across the country. Macaroni, in a post on his X handle on Friday, faulted the President’s handling of security, declaring that the continued kidnap of schoolchildren was proof of “incompetence”. He wrote: “President Tinubu, you said you had all the answers to end Terrorism!! You said any President who could not protect the people is incompetent! “Any school child that has been abducted is a result of your incompetence!! The blood of Nigerians being shed as an act of terrorism is on your head!!!.” Police, military comb forests in search for abducted Niger Catholic school students His comments followed the latest attack in Niger State, where terrorists abducted students and staff of St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in the Papiri community of Agwara Local Government Area. The exact number of victims has yet to be confirmed as the school was still compiling its records at press time. The Kotangora Catholic Diocese in Niger state has issued a statement confirming the incident. Terrorists invade Catholic School in Niger, kidnap students, staff Efforts by THENEWSCREDIT to reach the Niger State Police Command were unsuccessful, as the spokesperson, SP Wasiu Abiodun, did not take his calls. The incident comes just days after terrorists stormed a government school in Kebbi State, kidnapping at least 25 students.

The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has blasted President Bola Tinubu over the recent upsurge in killings and kidnappings in Nigeria. In a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele described the situation as a shame, especially for the fact that some officials of the government went to the United States for a meeting regarding insecurity and the threats issued by Donald Trump. The prophet stated that the president’s responsibility is to ensure every Nigerian is secured, and that if the president can’t make that happen, he should resign from his position and let someone else who is capable do it. He made it known that the issue of genocide isn’t just affecting Christians alone, but everyone in the country, regardless of their religion. “You have to use everything you have within your power to secure the lives of Nigerians. It’s a disgrace that we have to go and report to America, let’s be truthful and honest, Genocide isn’t a particular religion, it’s not only Christians, Muslims are also involved. The killing is general, and it’s really sad. “Tinubu has a responsibility to protect every Nigerian regardless of religion or tribe, but what we have seen so far doesn’t seem like the president can do it. “Sadly, citizens are losing confidence in their president; it’s totally a shame. If the president can’t solve insecurity, he should resign and let someone who can do it replace him.” Police, military comb forests in search for abducted Niger Catholic school students The prophet blasted the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, for always ignoring warnings regarding insecurity in the country, making it known that he is one of those causing issues in Tinubu’s government. He explained that the NSA hasn’t acted in his capacity to solve insecurity in the country. “The NSA is always busy when it comes to listening to warnings that can protect the lives and properties of Nigerians. He doesn’t listen to intelligent advice, and this is costing the Tinubu government a lot. The president must call him to order, not for political reasons but for the sake of the innocent Nigerians.” Furthermore, he advised President Tinubu to do everything within his power to protect Nigerians and ensure he listens to every advice. “When there is insecurity everywhere will be in disarray; let the air run their aircraft in areas where we have problems. During elections, we see planes flying around; this should be done in those areas. The IGP, COAS, should relocate to these areas where we have problems. “The DSS is doing well, the officials are proactive to a large extent, but they can’t do it on their own. They should be assisted by other forces to ensure their intelligence doesn’t go to waste. “It is also not a time for you to ignore any prophecy, either fake or not. These terrorists sleep, they are not spirits, they shouldn’t have mercy on anyone, destroy them,” he added.

Tension has gripped Niger State after terrorists launched a midnight assault on St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in the Papiri Community of Agwara Local Government Area, abducting an unconfirmed number of students and staff. Details remain unclear, but according to Daily Trust, multiple sources said that several students were taken during the late-night raid, THENEWSCREDIT had earlier reported. Fear and uncertainty now hang over the community as families await official updates. A source from one of the Catholic churches in Niger State confirmed the incident, explaining that the school was still trying to determine the exact number of victims. “Yes, it is true, but I am not in a position to give details. The church will issue an official statement later in the day,” he said. When contacted, the Spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said he would provide details later. However, the Head of Department, Disaster and Relief, Agwara Local Government, Ahmed Abdullahi Rofia, confirmed the attack via telephone, revealing that the terrorists struck in the early hours of Friday morning. He said the “attackers invaded the school between 2am and 3am, adding that the actual number of abducted students and staff had yet to be determined as authorities continue their assessments.” Arise TV in a separate report on Friday said 52 students were abducted. The assault comes just days after a similar attack in Maga, Kebbi State, where 25 students were kidnapped, heightening nationwide concerns over worsening insecurity in schools across the North. The crisis deepened further on Thursday when over 50 schools were shut down in four Kwara State local government areas due to rampaging bandits. As the situation escalates, President Bola Tinubu has cancelled his trips to South Africa and Angola to coordinate the national response to the deepening security challenges Meanwhile, the State Governor, Umar Bago, has also confirmed the incident via his official Facebook handle on Friday. It was detailed in a statement titled, “Niger State Government Condemns Kidnapping of pupils in Papiri area in Agwara Local Government, Reiterates Earlier Security Directive.”

Bandits who abducted about 35 worshippers from the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke-Igan, Eruku, in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, have reportedly demanded N100 million ransom per victim, THENEWSCREDIT has learnt. Multiple family sources and community leaders confirmed on Thursday that the kidnappers have established contact with relatives of the victims, using the phones of those abducted during the Tuesday evening attack. The Secretary of the CAC assembly, Josiah Agbabiaka, told The THENEWSCREDIT that some families had already been reached by the abductors. “It is true that the bandits have started contacting family members using the victims’ phones to demand ransom. “From what we were told, they grouped the victims. The first group of 11 people has been asked to pay N100 million each,” Agbabiaka said. Also confirming the development, the Olori Eta of Eruku, Chief Olusegun Olukotun, whose four family members were among those abducted, said the kidnappers were reaching out systematically. “Some people in the community have received calls from the kidnappers demanding N100 million for each person. They said the victims were grouped and they are calling each group’s relatives,” he told THENEWSCREDIT Olukotun, who said he was inside the church with five members of his family during the attack, said he managed to escape through a window while others were taken away. Meanwhile, the traditional ruler of the town, Owa of Eruku, Oba Busari Olarewaju, has appealed for urgent government intervention to ensure the safe rescue of the victims. The monarch, who commended the swift deployment of military personnel to the community following the visit of the state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, on Wednesday, however, stressed that more needed to be done. “Last night, soldiers entered our community minutes after the governor visited. Their presence gave us some assurance that the government is responding. “But we are still appealing that efforts should be intensified to rescue our people as quickly as possible,” the monarch said. When contacted by our correspondent, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, declined to comment. “Kindly speak to the police,” he simply said. However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said that the command had not received any official report of ransom demand. “We are not aware of any demand for ransom or contact made to the family members of the victims. “Our tactical teams, alongside the military and other security agencies, are on ground and making concerted efforts to rescue the abducted victims,” she said when contacted by THENEWSCREDIT on Thursday. Ejire-Adeyemi added that the state Commissioner of Police, CP Adekimi Ojo, had urged community members and relatives of the abducted persons to provide timely information that could aid the operation. “The CP assures residents that the police will continue to do everything possible to secure lives and property in Kwara State,” she added. The attack on the Eruku church is the latest in a series of violent incidents that have rattled communities across Kwara State in recent months. The recent incidents have heightened fears over the growing reach of banditry in Kwara, a state historically considered one of the safer in the North-Central region.

Tragedy occurred on Thursday in the Oba Ile community, Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State when a 19-year-old man described as mentally unstable stabbed an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to death. The deceased NSCDC official was said to have been attacked during an attempt to restrain the teenager, following a distress call from the suspect’s mother. A resident who witnessed the incident but spoke on the condition of anonymity told our correspondent that the woman had called in two NSCDC operatives when her son became violent earlier in the day. He said, “When the boy started misbehaving this morning, his mother invited two civil defence officers to help her chain him. Meanwhile, in the process of chaining him, he overpowered the civil defence man and removed the knife from the man and stabbed him. “But, it was unfortunate that the civil defence man died in spite that he was with a gun when the incident happened.” The spokesman for the NSCDC in the state, Daniel Aidamenbor, confirmed the incident, describing it as “unfortunate.” “Yes, the incident happened. It happened when our officer was attempting to take the man to a facility where he would be treated,” he said. Also confirming the development, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, said the NSCDC officer died from injuries sustained during the struggle. “Yes, it is true that the civil defence officer died while receiving treatment at the hospital,” Ayanlade said.

Jacob McGee, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, has defended the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, CPC, under the administration of President Donald Trump. McGee made the defence on Thursday during a public hearing of the US Congress on Nigeria’s CPC status. He cited the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, who was lynched by a mob after being accused of blasphemy. “Her murderers remain free,” McGee said, describing the incident as part of a troubling pattern of abuses, torture, disappearances and extrajudicial killings linked to blasphemy accusations. Terrorism conviction: Nnamdi Kanu lawyer, Ejimakor reveals next step after life imprisonment McGee said the US “stands ready to champion the rights of Christians,” stressing that the annual International Religious Freedom, IRF, reports consistently document severe violations in Nigeria. He noted that violence targeting Christian communities—particularly in the Middle Belt—has become alarming. According to him, numerous testimonies confirm that attackers “used religious language” and “specifically targeted Christians for killing, abduction and rape.” The official also accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect religious leaders who speak out. He referenced Bishop Wilfred Anagbe and Father Remigius, who he said received threats instead of protection after testifying before US lawmakers last year. ‎Court sentences Nnamdi Kanu to life imprisonment for terrorism McGee further condemned Nigeria’s blasphemy laws, enforced under Sharia penal codes in 12 states, saying they violate free speech and place the country among only eight worldwide where blasphemy can carry the death penalty.

The Nigerian government has demanded the imposition of death sentence on Nnamdi Kanu following his conviction on terrorism charges. Counsel to the Federal Government, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, informed the court that the sections of the law under which Kanu was charged and convicted carried death sentence without any option. Addressing the court after the pronouncement, the senior lawyer said the court has no discretion to exercise than to impose maximum punishment on him in line with the dictates of the law. Awomolo held that Kanu throughout the trial did not show remorse for the offences he committed against the Federal Republic of Nigeria but chose to be militant, arrogant and unruly in his attitude. He also demanded that all properties seized from Kanu be forfeited to the Federal Government. The prosecution counsel equally demanded that Kanu be taken to prison where his security will be guaranteed till when the judgment against him would be executed.

Nollywood actor and human rights activist Yomi Fabiyi continues to claim he has significant evidence regarding the death of singer Ilerioluwa Aloba known as Mohbad, which he alleges points to murder and a subsequent cover-up. He made the fresh claim in a video he posted on social media, where he also appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu to intervene. Fabiyi said the clip was sent to him in an an attempt to extort him. The actor in a viral clip on Thursday said, “President Bola Tinubu, I wrote to you in May 2025 that Mohbad was murdered. Part of the video was sent to me in an apparent attempt to extort me. Your office wrote and gave a directive to the Inspector General of Police that they should investigate, harmonise, and prosecute.” Fabiyi claimed that investigators at the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja had reviewed the case file and identified, he said, key suspects in an alleged cover-up.

Fear has gripped Nigerians following the recent surge in killings and mass abduction by bloodthirsty terrorists causing mayhem across the nation. There has been a bloodbath in the last five days, with scores of unsuspecting citizens gruesomely murdered, while a large number of persons were abducted. THENEWSCREDIT reports that in the last 7 days, nearly 200 people have been kidnapped following a series of attacks in Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger and Kwara, Kaduna and other states. On Saturday, November 15, the daredevil assailants attacked Fegin Baza village in the Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, killing at least three persons and abducting over 64 others. Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Thursday morning ‎ Barely 24 hours after the Fegin Baza attack, bandits on Sunday, November 16, launched a fresh attack on Tsohuwar Tasha village in the Ruwan Doruwa Ward of Maru Local Government of the same state, abducting 14 people, including 11 women and three children. On Monday, November 17, Nigerians received one of the most worrisome reports in recent time about the abduction of 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi State. The terrorists had invaded the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, shooting sporadically with the aim of whisking the schoolgirls to forest. Vice Principal of the school, Malam Hassan Makuku was gunned down by the criminal elements before they abducted the 25 schoolgirls. The same day, terrorists attacked the Kushe Gugbu in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, kidnapping a Catholic Priest, Rev Fr Bobbo Paschal and several others. A brother to one of the priests in the St Stephen Parish, Rev Fr Anthony Yero was murdered by the terrorists during the unprovoked attack. The callous murderers continued the killing spree on Tuesday by launching a deadly attack on the Eruku community, Ekiti Local Government Area Kwara State. Several residents of the community were worshiping at the Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, when the trouble makers invaded the facility, killing three worshippers and abducting at least 30 others including old and children. Meanwhile, at least four vigilantes were killed and four soldiers declared missing on Tuesday after terrorists attacked a military base in Mayenti, a town in the Bama Local Government Area of Borno State. THENEWSCREDIT reports that the attack occurred a day after the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, posted a video of the execution of Samaila Uba, a Nigerian Army brigadier-general. On Wednesday, terrorists launched an ambush on troops heading to rescue kidnapped schoolgirls in Kebbi State, injuring several soldiers. The attack occurred just 24 hours after the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, directed troops of Operation Fasan Yamma to go “all out” against the bandits responsible for abducting students of Government Girls Secondary School, Maga.