To Those Who Hold the Power to Act:
We write not with statistics alone, but with the weight of 166 families who do not know if their loved ones will return home. We write with the grief of communities who bury their dead while wondering who will be next. We write because silence in the face of such suffering is itself a choice—and it is the wrong one.
The crisis in Southern Kaduna is a stark symptom of a wider affliction plaguing Nigeria. It is not an isolated incident, but part of a pattern of violence that threatens communities across the nation. This is not an abstract policy matter to be filed away in diplomatic briefings. It is mothers waiting for daughters who were taken from Sunday worship. It is children who have learned that gathering in prayer can end in abduction. It is entire communities—in Southern Kaduna and beyond—living under a shadow of terror that has persisted for far too long.
To the Nigerian Government:
Your first duty is to all Nigerians—every citizen in every state, regardless of region, ethnicity, or faith. The people are not asking for favors—they are demanding what every citizen deserves: security, justice, and accountability. The pattern of violence, displacement, and abductions across Nigeria reveals a system that has failed to protect its most vulnerable.
When 166 people can be taken from a place of worship in Southern Kaduna, when communities across the nation live in fear, it exposes not just a security failure but a moral one. Your own people—from Kaduna to Borno, from Plateau to Zamfara, from the Middle Belt to the Southeast and Southwest—are watching and asking: do our lives matter to those who govern us?
A transparent public inquiry into the Southern Kaduna crisis is not a threat to your authority—it is an opportunity to restore faith in governance itself. It is a chance to prove that Nigerian lives are valued equally, that the government serves all its people, and that no community will be abandoned to violence and despair.
To UK Diplomatic Officials and the International Community:
Do not mistake distance for irrelevance, or diplomatic courtesy for neutrality in the face of atrocity. Your relationship with Nigeria carries weight and with it, responsibility. The Nigerian government must hear from partners and allies that sustained violence against civilians anywhere in the country is unacceptable, that mass abductions cannot become normalised, and that accountability is not optional.
Use every diplomatic lever available. Press for the inquiry. Demand transparency. Ensure that this is not merely noted in a report but becomes a priority that produces action, protection, and justice for all Nigerians suffering under the weight of insecurity.
The Path Forward Must Include:
∙ An immediate, comprehensive, and transparent public inquiry into the violence in Southern Kaduna, with findings made public and acted upon
∙ Concrete security measures to protect civilians in vulnerable communities across Nigeria
∙ Accountability for those responsible—whether through negligence, complicity, or direct action
∙ Justice for victims nationwide and support for displaced communities wherever they are
∙ Comprehensive reforms to address the root causes of insecurity and prevent such atrocities from continuing across the nation
This is not about politics or regional favoritism. This is about human beings—Nigerians—whose suffering demands a response. Every day without action is another day that tells victims their pain doesn’t matter, that their lives are expendable, that those in power have chosen to look away.
We refuse to look away. We add our voices and demand that you do not look away either.
The people of Southern Kaduna, and indeed all Nigerians living under the threat of violence, deserve safety. They deserve justice. They deserve a government and international community that treats their lives as sacred and their security as non-negotiable.
Act now. Not tomorrow. Not after the next attack. Now.
Author: Vinuyon Ramos
