Welcome to Thursday’s roundup of Nigerian newspaper headlines, accompanied by our advocacy-focused calls on issues that impact citizens.

1. Daily Trust: Bandits abduct 30 in Kwara church attack

Daily Trust reports that fresh details have emerged about the abduction of more than 30 worshippers during an attack on the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oke Isegun, in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, even as the Kebbi State government has released the names of the students kidnapped from Government Comprehensive Girls Secondary School in Maga, Danko Wasagu LGA, on Monday, 17 November, 2025.

Our Take: These escalating attacks make it painfully clear that communities cannot keep facing violence while waiting for security miracles that never arrive; it is time for federal and state authorities to finally step up, strengthen local security structures, and deploy real intelligence-led operations, not press statements, to ensure the safe return of all abducted persons.

2. ThisDayLive: FG Places Nation’s Security on Red Alert

The federal government has placed the country on its highest security alert following renewed attacks, with Information Minister Mohammed Idris conveying President Bola Tinubu’s sympathies to affected families and his commitment to protecting Nigerians—commitments that many hope will move faster than usual. Tinubu has also postponed his trips to South Africa and Angola to receive updates on the Kebbi school abductions and the attack on worshippers in Kwara, a reminder that insecurity has become the nation’s most persistent appointment.

Our Take: President Tinubu, beyond postponing trips, Nigerians want to see concrete action, clear, measurable steps that go beyond meetings and microphones. Citizens are exhausted from hearing the same condolences on loop, they want to see you deliver outcomes that rebuild trust, not just reassure them from behind a podium.

3. The Guardian: ‘Health Workers’ Strike Will Continue Until FG Reviews CONHESS’

The Chairman of the Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI) AE-FUTHA Branch, Comrade Bertrand Ogbuani, on Wednesday, insisted that the strike embarked upon by Health Workers under the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) will not be suspended until the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) is reviewed upwards.

Our Take: The federal government, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Labour, and the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission must urgently step out of the cycle of committees and communiqués and finally begin the long-overdue upward review of CONHESS, honouring agreements with JOHESU that have been gathering dust since 2012. Nigerians cannot keep navigating hospitals where services are on pause, and health workers cannot be expected to operate on goodwill while their salary structure waits for the kind of attention usually reserved for election seasons.