The Senate has called on the federal government to discontinue the rehabilitation programme for repentant Boko Haram members following the abduction and killing of military officers.
The decision followed the adoption of an additional prayer
on Tuesday during deliberations on the country’s security situation.
The prayer, proposed by Joseph Ikpea, senator representing
Edo central, was adopted through a voice vote during consideration of a motion
on the escalating attacks, abductions and killings of serving and retired
military personnel.
Supporting the proposal, Adams Oshiomhole, senator
representing Edo north, said: “It does not make even common sense to grant
pardon and rehabilitate criminals”.
The motion, sponsored by Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, senator
representing Katsina central and chairman of the senate committee on the
Nigerian Army, was prompted by the abduction and death of Rabe Abubakar, a
retired major general and former director of defence information.
Abubakar died in captivity after he was kidnapped alongside
his wife in Katsina state.
Leading the debate during Tuesday’s plenary, Yar’Adua
described the country’s security situation as a “national emergency”.
He said insecurity had assumed “increasingly complex,
persistent and alarming dimensions”, manifesting through terrorism, insurgency,
banditry, kidnapping, violent attacks on communities and the destruction of
livelihoods across several parts of the country.
“The death of the retired Major General and others in the
custody of terrorists represents not only personal tragedies but also a painful
national loss and a stark reminder of the scale and persistence of insecurity
confronting the nation,” he said.
Yar’Adua said terrorists had become increasingly
sophisticated and emboldened, extending their attacks beyond civilian
communities to serving and retired military officers.
“The increasing frequency with which serving and retired
military personnel are being targeted by criminal and terrorist groups
represents a dangerous evolution in the nation’s security challenges,” he said.
The senator warned that attacks on current and former
military personnel undermine the morale of security agencies, weaken public
confidence in the state’s ability to provide security and embolden criminal
groups.
He listed a series of attacks on senior military officers,
including the abduction of Rabiu Garba Yandoto, a retired colonel, in Zamfara
in January 2023; the kidnap and killing of Richard Duru, retired major general,
in Imo in September 2023 despite the payment of ransom; the murder of Uwem
Udokwere, retired brigadier general, in Abuja in June 2024; the abduction of
Maharazu Tsiga, former NYSC director-general, in Katsina in February 2025; the
death of Joe Ajayi, a retired major, in captivity in Kogi in May 2025; the
abduction and rescue of Joseph Ajanaku, a retired colonel, in Plateau in
January 2026.
’PERPETRATORS MUST BE ARRESTED’
Seconding the motion, Osita Izunaso, senator representing
Imo west, urged security agencies to ensure those responsible for the attacks
were arrested.
“We have to mandate them to ensure that these people are
arrested because we are all following the incident. The perpetrators must be
arrested and brought to book,” he said.
Abba Moro, senate minority leader, said insecurity had made
travelling unsafe even for public office holders.
“It’s becoming increasingly dangerous for people, even like
us that are protected by government, to move around the roads these days,” Moro
said.
He recounted the killing of a professor near a police
checkpoint in Benue state.
“They just shot him dead right there, very close to a police
checkpoint. If people can conveniently be killed like that, then it becomes
increasingly scary that we are all walking corpses,” he said.
Moro urged the senate leadership to meet with President Bola
Tinubu to brief him on lawmakers’ concerns over the security situation.
Abdul Ningi, senator representing Bauchi central, questioned
why criminal groups were controlling parts of the country.
“Is this country at war? If we are not at war, why are
non-government bodies controlling parts of this country?” Ningi asked.
He also called for an investigation into the number of
security personnel killed across the country and the support available to their
families.
Responding to the debate, Jibrin Barau, the deputy senate
president, defended the efforts of the armed forces and other security
agencies.
“Our men in uniform are doing their best. They are working
very hard,” Barau said.
He added that terrorism and banditry had become regional
challenges affecting several West African countries.
“The issue of banditry and terrorism has a global dimension.
The entire West African region is confronted with this sad reality, from Mali
to Burkina Faso, Niger and beyond,” he said.
OTHER RESOLUTIONS
The senate also urged security and intelligence agencies to
strengthen intelligence gathering, intelligence sharing, surveillance
operations, threat assessment mechanisms and early warning systems.
Lawmakers called for deeper collaboration with local
communities, traditional institutions and religious leaders to improve
community-based intelligence and trust-driven security partnerships.
The upper legislative chamber further urged the federal
government to accelerate the deployment of modern security technologies,
including unmanned aerial systems, geospatial intelligence capabilities,
integrated command and control platforms and advanced communications systems to
combat terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.
Lawmakers also mandated the senate leadership to constitute
a delegation to visit the family of the late Abubakar, the Katsina state
government and the Nigerian Army to convey the condolences of the senate.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com