Senate to hold national summit on insecurity

The Senate on Tuesday resolved to organise a two-day national summit on insecurity with a view to proffering solutions to terrorism, insurgency and other security challenges in the country.

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The upper chamber made the decision after adopting a motion sponsored by Ondo South senator, Jimoh Ibrahim, during the plenary.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the decision after a majority of the senators supported it through voice votes during the plenary.

Mr Akpabio said the summit would involve the presidency, state governors, traditional leaders, student bodies and representatives from communities ravaged by insurgency.

“The security summit will comprise delegates from the state, delegates from the traditional institutions, from student bodies, communities affected by the insurgency and also relevant committees.

“And we will also invite security experts to talk to us, and also have the executive to participate so that we will have a holistic debate because security is everybody’s business,” Mr Akpabio said.

This is not the first time a national security summit has been considered by the national assembly. The 9th National Assembly, under former Senate President Ahmad Lawan and former Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, held a summit in May 2021 to address Nigeria’s security challenges.

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Despite the high-profile participation of security experts, civil society organisations, and government representatives, the security challenges have remained.

The current 10th Senate has also summoned service chiefs and heads of security agencies numerous times since its inauguration in 2023, and there have been several debates on security in the two chambers of the national assembly, yet insecurity remains a national concern. Kidnappings, insurgency and banditry have persisted, with many citizens expressing frustration over the lack of visible progress.

Issues the summit will address

One of the critical issues the upcoming summit aims to address is the leakage of sensitive military information to militant groups.

Mr Akpabio expressed concern that militants access operational intelligence, suggesting that there may be flaws in the military’s recruitment and internal processes.

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“It is worrisome. By the time we have the security summit, you will realise that the reason why all these have been leaked to militants is because we have a problem,” he said.

He said that many dismissed military personnel often end up training militants, passing on the tactics and strategies they learned during their service.

The senate president said the summit will, therefore, explore the implications of military discharges, recruitment procedures, and the effectiveness of community policing.

“When the army sacks hundreds of soldiers, many of them will go into training of militants. Then the languages they were taught will now be passed to the militants.

“We will discuss the issue of recruitment. How can we utilise the community vigilante? How can we have community policing?”