Award-winning Nollywood actress Kehinde Bankole has issued a direct demand to the Federal Government, the Office of the National Security Advisor, and the country’s intelligence agencies to immediately deploy “full wrath and force” to end the escalating wave of kidnappings in the country.

In a social media post on Wednesday, the actress voiced the growing exhaustion of everyday Nigerians, declaring that the public is tired of “condolence speeches” and demands immediate, tactical results to save the lives of citizens.

“It is no longer about why it is happening; it is now simply about lives! Lives are being lost! This should not be our new normal, children running for their lives in 2026! Oh God,” she wrote.

In her post, Bankole tackled a political defence that rising insecurity and kidnappings are being sponsored by opposition elements or saboteurs seeking to de-market the current administration.

Rather than using “sabotage” as an excuse, Bankole argued that such theories should compel the state’s security apparatus to act with even greater aggression.

She wrote, “Even if the kidnappings are a smear campaign on the government, it should be all the more reason for the Office of the National Security Advisor, along with the Presidency, to tackle insecurity with full wrath and force.
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“Find a way! No bigger political campaign. Tactically flush out their “saboteurs” if that exists. That should be the focus now. They must make the National Intelligence Agency, the DSS, the Ministry of Defence, and security agencies work! Because enough is enough! The people are tired of condolence speeches and need only bigger action, “ she said.

The actress stated that the political class must move beyond codolence speeches to provide solutions.

“Our cry is for something decisive to be done and to be done fast. They must put everyone to work! They must tactfully fish out who is causing this and find a way. All hands have to be forced to be on deck! The people need only results, no more condolence speeches,” she wrote.

Bankole’s outcry comes amid heightened nationwide anxiety following the recent mass abduction of at least 25 school children and seven teachers in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, which also resulted in the brutal murder of a mathematics teacher in captivity.

Her post also adds to an increasing number of calls from celebrities speaking out against insecurity and banditry.

PUNCH Online reports that actress Opeyemi Aiyeola recently made an appeal to politically connected celebrities and traditional rulers to lobby the presidency for urgent action against kidnappings and banditry.

Ten Nigerian firms have secured a combined $560,000 in funding under the inaugural cohort of the TECA Heat Action Wave programme aimed at accelerating solutions to extreme heat across the country.

The programme, launched by BFA Global, FSD Africa, ClimateWorks Foundation, and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Nigeria, selected 10 early-stage ventures developing innovations to address the growing impact of rising temperatures on agriculture, healthcare, sanitation, energy systems, and food preservation.

According to a statement on Tuesday, the selected firms will each receive $56,000 alongside venture-acceleration support covering product development, business model design, investor readiness, and user validation.

The initiative comes amid growing concerns over the economic and health impact of extreme heat in Nigeria, where rising temperatures are worsening food spoilage, livestock losses, crop stress, and pressure on healthcare infrastructure.

According to the organisers, the ventures were selected from a competitive pool and reflect a growing climate innovation ecosystem spanning Lagos, Kaduna, and Edo States.

Among the selected firms are Ofemini Global Limited, which operates a heat-resilient logistics platform for transporting perishable farm produce; Agiletech Operations Consulting Limited, which provides hyperlocal climate and heat alerts to farmers and micro-entrepreneurs; and Emplaris, which develops predictive energy and heat-risk intelligence systems for hospitals.

Others include Doorcas Africa, which uses artificial intelligence to improve livestock health and reduce heat-related mortality; Farmxic, which offers AI-driven soil and crop diagnostics; and Let-It-Cold, which provides solar-powered cooling systems for preserving perishable goods during heatwaves and power outages.

Speaking on the initiative, TECA Director at BFA Global, Tyler Ferdinand, said extreme heat had become one of the biggest operational risks facing African economies despite limited investment in adaptation solutions.

“Extreme heat is rapidly becoming one of the biggest operational risks facing African economies, yet it remains dramatically underinvested.
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“Through TECA’s Heat Action Wave, we’re backing entrepreneurs building the tools, services, and financial products that will allow people, businesses, and cities to function in a hotter world. Our goal is not only to support these ventures but to prove that climate adaptation can become a powerful new investment frontier,” Ferdinand said.

The Director of Early Stage Finance at FSD Africa, Juliet Munro, said scaling climate adaptation finance on the continent would depend on practical and investable solutions.

“If climate adaptation finance is going to scale in Africa, it has to be grounded in real, investable solutions. This group of innovators tackling extreme heat is important because it shows what those solutions look like in practice, and that’s what gives markets the confidence to follow. At FSD Africa, our role is to help turn early innovation like this into something markets can actually back,” she said.

Also, the Senior Director of Adaptation and Resilience at ClimateWorks Foundation, Jessica Brown, noted that the economic cost of failing to address climate change was increasing globally.

“The cost of inaction on climate change is growing, as over 70 per cent of workers around the world are at risk from deadly extreme heat. At the same time, momentum for adaptation is growing, as we see both more funding and more innovation. These new business ventures are strong, community-led solutions that can accelerate resilience in Nigeria and more broadly in the West African region,” Brown said.

Also commenting, Temi Akinrinade of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Nigeria, said the initiative aligned with broader efforts to support private sector-led climate innovation in Nigeria.

“Responding to climate change is central to Nigeria’s future growth and resilience. The UK is excited to support this cohort of ambitious Nigerian businesses developing transformative solutions to extreme heat. TECA’s Heat Action Wave is part of a broader UK partnership with Nigeria that backs private sector–led innovation, creates jobs, and drives shared prosperity for both our countries as we transition to a greener economy,” Akinrinade stated.

The programme is expected to run through 2026 and will culminate in demo days and investor engagement opportunities, with follow-on support planned for top-performing ventures.