President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday declared a nationwide security emergency, ordering a massive recruitment drive across the military, police, and intelligence agencies following a surge in coordinated kidnappings across several states.
The president also directed the National Assembly to begin work on legislation enabling the creation of state police, saying Nigeria must “deploy more boots on the ground” to confront terrorists and bandit groups operating across the North.
But the move sparked intense backlash in both chambers of the National Assembly, where senators and House members openly criticised the Federal Government for negotiating with bandits who abducted pupils and worshippers in Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger states.
The lawmakers demanded an immediate halt to all negotiations, insisting such engagements embolden criminal networks. They also condemned the reported withdrawal of troops from the Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, hours before gunmen kidnapped 24 schoolgirls.
Senate debates grew heated, with lawmakers warning that Nigeria was “under attack” and at risk of losing public confidence. Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin urged international support, while Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele said the situation was a “defining moment” for the country.
In barely one week, over 300 schoolchildren and teachers were abducted in Kebbi, Niger, and Kwara states. Two worshippers were killed and 38 others seized during an attack on a CAC church in Kwara. Many schools across northern states have now been shut, while the Federal Government ordered the closure of 41 unity colleges.
The African Democratic Congress joined the criticism, accusing the government of secretly negotiating with bandits and giving conflicting accounts of the victims’ release.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also faulted the FG’s approach, questioning why no abductors were arrested if the security agencies truly tracked them.
Tinubu approved the recruitment of 20,000 additional police officers raising the ongoing intake to 50,000, and authorised the military and DSS to intensify enlistment.
NYSC camps will temporarily serve as police training depots, while officers withdrawn from very important persons (VIPs) security duties will undergo crash retraining for deployment to high-risk areas.
The President also directed the DSS to deploy all trained forest guards immediately and recruit more personnel to “flush out terrorists and bandits hiding in our forests.”
He urged states to stop building boarding schools in isolated areas and called on religious centres in vulnerable zones to request security cover.
