The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday resolved to send a delegation led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio to meet President Bola Tinubu over worsening insecurity after lawmakers warned that repeated attacks on serving and retired military officers now demand urgent action.
The lawmakers also asked the Federal Government to suspend the rehabilitation and reintegration programme for Boko Haram members and focus on arresting and prosecuting terrorists.
The decision followed a motion sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, who described the attacks on serving and retired military personnel as a serious threat to national security and the authority of the state.
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The Senate agreed that engaging President Tinubu directly has become necessary as kidnappings and killings continue in several parts of the country. Lawmakers also directed Senate committees responsible for security to strengthen oversight of security agencies so that security chiefs are held accountable for efforts to tackle the crisis.
The resolutions show that senators believe the security situation now requires both stronger legislative oversight and direct engagement with the Presidency. By combining oversight with talks at the highest level of government, the Senate is seeking quicker decisions on measures it believes could improve security.
As part of its resolutions, the upper chamber also urged the Federal Government to suspend the rehabilitation and reintegration programme for Boko Haram members. Senators said security agencies should instead intensify efforts to arrest and prosecute terrorists and other criminal groups behind violent attacks.
Yar’Adua backed his motion with several cases involving serving and retired military officers.
He recalled the abduction of retired Colonel Rabiu Garba Yandoto and his two children along the Gusau–Tsafe Road in Zamfara State on 1 January, 2023.
He also cited the kidnapping and killing of retired Major General Richard Chukwudi Duru in Imo State in September 2023 after a $50,000 ransom was paid.
The senator listed the killing of retired Brigadier General Uwem Udokwere at his residence in Lokogoma, Abuja, in June 2024, and the abduction of former National Youth Service Corps Director-General, Brigadier General Maharazu Tsiga (retd), who spent 56 days in captivity before regaining his freedom in April 2025.
He further referred to the abduction and death of retired Major Joe Ajayi in Kogi State in May 2025, the rescue of retired Colonel Joseph Ajanaku after his kidnapping in Plateau State in January 2026, and the abduction of former Director of Defence Information, Major General Rabe Abubakar (retd), alongside his wife in Katsina State on 30 May, 2026. Abubakar later died in captivity.
Yar’Adua said the repeated attacks have caused deaths, ransom payments, emotional trauma and economic hardship for victims and their families. He argued that many of the officers targeted once handled intelligence, operational and command duties during their military service, making the attacks a serious national security issue.
The Senate’s resolutions show lawmakers’ view that the response to insecurity now requires closer supervision of security agencies and direct engagement with the President.