The Senate on Tuesday asked President Bola Tinubu to immediately approve the recruitment of 100,000 fresh military personnel to tackle worsening insecurity, including escalating school abductions and deadly attacks in several states.
The lawmakers also ordered a full-scale probe into the Safe School Programme, saying billions budgeted to protect schoolchildren appear to have vanished while criminals continue to raid educational institutions with ease.
The resolutions followed a heated debate sparked by the killing of a vice principal and kidnapping of 25 schoolgirls at Government Girls’ Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State.
Presiding over plenary, Senate President Godswill Akpabio later moved the chamber into a closed-door meeting to examine what he described as “classified security concerns.”
Leading the debate, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) warned that Nigeria’s security crisis had outgrown the capacity of existing personnel, insisting that only a massive recruitment drive and modern technology could reverse the trend.
“We must be honest with ourselves—the scale of insecurity today demands a strategic expansion of our armed forces,” Oshiomhole said.
“I urge the President and the military authorities to recruit an additional 100,000 men and women into the military. Apart from strengthening our troops, it will also provide jobs for our restless youth.”
He accused certain actors of turning national insecurity into a money-making venture.
“People have turned our security into a business. We should not monetise the death of our people,” he declared.
“What happened to the money earmarked for the Safe School Programme? These attacks on students persist because the funds were either mismanaged or not used for their intended purpose.”
Oshiomhole also called for a Senate-led probe and a technological overhaul of the nation’s security architecture.
“I call on the military to deploy technology and tracking devices so we can locate these criminals faster,” he said.
Senate President Akpabio backed the fresh recruitment and investigation into Safe School funds, warning that the attackers were deliberately focusing on vulnerable communities.
“We urge the Federal Government and our relevant committees to thoroughly probe the spending,” Akpabio said.
“Unfortunately, these criminals are now going after soft targets, particularly children.”
He condemned attempts to politicise insecurity and condoled with families of the Kebbi victims.
“But crime is crime. It doesn’t matter under which administration it occurs,” he added.
“Even the almighty America experiences crime daily. All lives matter. May the souls of the vice principal who died and all affected students rest in peace.”
Gunmen on Monday stormed Government Girls’ Secondary School, Maga, killing a vice principal and abducting at least 25 female students.
The incident has renewed concerns over repeated mass abductions, particularly in northern schools, despite billions reportedly committed to the Safe School policy.
With the Senate’s unanimous support, the pressure now shifts to President Tinubu and the military hierarchy to respond to what lawmakers describe as a national emergency requiring troop expansion, technology-driven operations and accountability for past spending.
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