Insecurity: What lawmakers said at Reps’ special session

The House of Representatives on Wednesday continued its special session on national security, with lawmakers issuing the starkest warnings yet about the deteriorating security situation.

Members described the recent mass abductions, killings, and coordinated attacks across several states as evidence that the country is struggling to protect citizens.

The session, which began on Tuesday, was held at the National Assembly complex, following a series of abductions and the rescue of some schoolgirls in Kebbi, developments repeatedly described as a “national tragedy” by lawmakers.

In an emotionally charged debate that stretched for hours, lawmakers from all six geopolitical zones recounted personal tragedies, community suffering, and failures of state institutions.

They demanded a decisive overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture, stronger political will, and the implementation of long-standing recommendations that have gathered dust across successive administrations, including state policing, coordinated military response, and full implementation of long-standing security recommendations.

Women and children under siege — Ogbara

Opening one of the most passionate interventions of the day, Kafilat Ogbara (APC, Lagos) said insecurity had become a “bleeding wound” in Nigerian families, especially for women and children, whom she described as deliberate targets.

Rising “as a mother and as chairperson of the House Committee on Women’s Affairs,” she said, schools across the country have transformed from safe spaces into attack zones.

“We have seen the children. Where are the kidnappers?” she asked repeatedly.

“These are not mere security failures. They are breaches of the most fundamental duty of the state.”

Mrs Ogbara urged the House to urgently legislate a framework for state policing and called for a national safe-schools protection system, early-warning infrastructure, panic alert systems, and a federal rescue and rehabilitation fund for abducted pupils.

She also pressed for improved welfare for military personnel, saying the country cannot attract committed recruits when “the incentives are not enough, and the welfare mechanism is weak.”

‘Insecurity now lives among us’ — Ibori-Suenu

Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu (APC, Delta) said insecurity in parts of her state now involves community members colluding with criminal networks.

An acting APC chairman, she said, was recently killed, while her political leader was kidnapped weeks earlier.

“It is not just Boko Haram. It is people within us,” she said.

“Our own people are picking their neighbours and selling them to kidnappers. That is the level of rot.”

She urged colleagues to treat insecurity as a national, not partisan, problem. “We are first Nigerians before anything else,” she added.

“Declare a state of emergency” — Dasuki

Abdussamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto) urged President Bola Tinubu to formally declare a state of emergency, arguing that the violence ravaging communities amounts to a war.

“We are not lacking resolutions. We are lacking implementation,” he said, warning that the House must ensure its decisions translate to action, not empty speeches.

“A country that cannot secure its land is not sovereign” — Ozodinobi

Deputy Minority Whip George Ozodinobi questioned Nigeria’s refusal to seek international assistance despite terrorists overrunning communities and killing senior military officers.

“What kind of sovereignty allows terrorists to capture and kill a general like a common criminal?” he asked.

Mr Ozodinobi said Nigeria had once intervened in Liberia and Congo, and therefore should not reject external support.

“This is not the time for pride. A country where terrorists can humiliate the military is not sovereign. It is under siege,” he said.

He also urged Mr Tinubu to grant a legal pardon to detained separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu “within the ambience of the law.”

North-west lawmakers outline structural roots of crisis

Speaking for the North-west, Sada Soli (APC, Katsina) described insecurity in the zone as “deeply complex and multidimensional.”

He traced its evolution from farmer–herder clashes to organised crime, aided by thick forests that straddle state borders and allow criminals to operate unchallenged.

“There is limited trust in state mechanisms. Traditional conflict-resolution frameworks are weakened. Communities have lost social cohesion,” he said.

He called for reforms in land use, arms control, grazing practices, and community integration.

“Our defence budgeting is structurally flawed” — Betara

Muktar Betara (APC, Borno), a former chair of the Army, Defence, and Appropriation Committees, said years of poor defence funding structures were undermining operations.

He cited examples from his oversight experience.

“How do you run the Air Force with a budget that is almost entirely recurrent?” he asked.

“In 2025, the police still depend heavily on state governors. How can they function like that?”

He described procurement delays, poor barracks conditions, and inadequate welfare as factors draining morale. He, however, noted Mr Tinubu’s plan to review military and police salaries by up to 300 per cent.

“Criminals have infiltrated security institutions” — Wase

Idris Wase (APC, Plateau) warned that armed robbers and other criminal gangs were penetrating security agencies.

He cautioned against narratives framing insecurity as religious, saying criminals cut across Muslims, Christians, and pagans.

South-west lawmakers reject religious framing

Isiaka Ibrahim (APC, Ogun) raised concerns about border security, particularly in communities located within five kilometres of neighbouring countries.

He disclosed that bandits had written to threaten the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, only a day earlier.

He also rejected claims that the crisis is genocide against Christians.

“In the South-west, families live in harmony. Do not inflict a narrative that may last generations,” he said, urging stronger arms control and a unified national response.

“Nigeria’s problem is implementation, not ideas” — Enwo

Igariwey Enwo (PDP, Ebonyi) recalled that the National Intelligence Agency hosted lawmakers for a week-long security study during the last administration.

“We submitted a full report. Up till today, nothing was implemented,” he said.

He called for the House leadership to liaise directly with the executive to ensure resolutions do not “die on paper.”

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“Stop negotiating with terrorists” — Bob

Solomon Bob (PDP, Rivers) questioned the rescue of schoolgirls in Kebbi, arguing that the absence of arrests suggests negotiation with criminals.

“You pay money, they will come back. It is like a blackmailer,” he said.

He blamed weak institutions and “weak people in those institutions” for Nigeria’s failure to confront violent groups.

“Government must stop appeasing terrorists. Go after them,” he said.

Debate expected to continue over the coming legislative days

The conversations form only a phase of a multi-day national security dialogue, as the discussion will continue over the coming legislative days to allow as many members within the chamber as possible to make submissions.

The intention is to build a comprehensive, evidence-based resolution that reflects the full range of security failures and regional experiences presented before the parliament.

The final set of resolutions, once harmonised, will be forwarded to the executive arm for urgent action.