Senate Tells FG To Stop Rehabilitating Repentant Boko Haram Terrorists, Cites Killing Of Military Officers
The Nigerian 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.
This call followed the adoption of an additional prayer on Tuesday during deliberations on the country’s security situation.
The prayer, proposed by the senator representing Edo central, Joseph Ikpea, 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, Senator Adams Oshiomhole representing Edo north, said: “It does not make even common sense to grant pardon and rehabilitate criminals”.
The motion, sponsored by the senator representing Katsina central and chairman of the senate committee on the Nigerian Army, Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, 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.
Seconding the motion, the senator representing Imo west, Osita Izunaso, 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.
The senate minority leader, Abba Moro, 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.
Senator Abdul Ningi 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, the deputy senate president, Jibrin Barau, 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.
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.