![Members of House of Representatives during a session in the green chamber. [PHOTO CREDIT: Official Twitter handle of House of Reps.]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2023/05/House-of-Reps-1-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C744&ssl=1)
In a move that lawmakers described as unprecedented in recent years, the House suspended all routine legislative business and dedicated a three-day special session to interrogate the national security situation. It also attended to other national issues. Here are some of the issues:
Reps hold special session to interrogate nation’s unabating insecurity
The 360-member House set aside three legislative days to mirror the nation’s security challenges and made some recommendations on how to overcome the menace.
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Opening the session on Tuesday, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen said the last few weeks had exposed deep vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s security architecture. He pointed to coordinated attacks on rural communities, targeted killings, highway abductions and the displacement of entire settlements as evidence of a crisis that had become too dangerous to ignore.
“This moment requires calm heads, careful judgement and thoughtful action,” he told colleagues. “There must be no rush or sensational responses.”
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Over the course of the session, lawmakers dissected structural problems in the armed forces and police, including inadequate troop numbers, obsolete equipment and chronic delays in the release of operational funds. Several members raised concerns about poor welfare for security personnel, arguing that low morale had contributed to desertions, low resilience and weak frontline response.
There were also strong calls for reforms that would improve community-level intelligence gathering and rebuild trust between residents and security agencies, especially in areas where civilians have grown fearful of cooperating due to reprisals from armed groups.
Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda accused the federal government of failing to act decisively despite years of recurring violence. He argued that Nigerians were living in fear daily while elected leaders watched attacks become more brazen.
“Government is sleeping,” he said bluntly, stressing that the government, across all arms, had failed to act decisively despite repeated attacks that have left families grieving and entire communities displaced.
A former Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase, also raised a distressing concern that criminal gangs, including armed robbers, had infiltrated the security system. He said such infiltration had compromised operations, frustrated investigations and emboldened attackers.
His warning added another dimension to the already complex debate, with several lawmakers calling for immediate internal audits within security establishments.
The Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, proposed that the House consider criminal penalties within the next six months for officials who engage in unauthorised ransom negotiations or approve informal amnesty programmes for bandits.
He argued that such actions, when carried out outside proper government frameworks, had worsened the crisis by encouraging criminal groups to escalate their activities.
The special session ended on Thursday, with Mr Kalu announcing that a set of resolutions would be transmitted to the executive for urgent action.
Lawmakers enter a critical stage in Constitution amendment process
On Thursday, lawmakers received a major update on the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution. Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who chairs the House Committee on Constitution Review, announced that the chamber would vote on proposed amendments on 10 December.
He informed members that the House would dedicate three consecutive legislative days next week, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to debate the consolidated reports. The committee, he said, had completed its technical work and was finalising documents that would be presented to the chamber.
“We are going to continue another set of debates next week, but this time it will be on the Constitution review,” he said. “We will confirm to you before that Tuesday if we are taking this decision. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will be for the debates because we are looking at the upper week to be when we will vote on the Constitution, which is about 10 December, before we wind down this session.”
The review process includes far-reaching proposals on state policing, judicial reforms, local government autonomy and restructuring of revenue allocation. Lawmakers are expected to take positions on all proposed amendments when voting opens.
Plea for IPOB’s Nnamdi Kanu
The South-east Caucus of the House also made a significant intervention this week, urging President Bola Tinubu to grant a presidential pardon to Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Mr Kanu, who was convicted on all seven counts related to terrorism and incitement, was sentenced to life imprisonment, while additional concurrent terms of 20 years and five years were imposed on other counts.
The call followed a caucus meeting on Monday, during which members reviewed the latest court judgement and assessed the continuing agitation across the region.
In a statement after the meeting, the lawmakers said the matter had “moved beyond legal arguments” and had evolved into a national political and humanitarian issue requiring decisive executive intervention.
They warned that continued detention had sustained tension, contributed to sporadic violence and psychologically strained families and communities.
The caucus argued that a political solution, rather than a strictly judicial trajectory, was now essential for restoring peace and normalcy in the region.
Thumbs down for agencies for evading oversight
A House Ad hoc Committee investigating power sector reforms and expenditures from 2007 to 2024 expressed frustration over what it described as an “emerging pattern of avoidance” by federal agencies expected to participate in its ongoing probe.
Committee chair, Ibrahim Aliyu, issued fresh summons to several agencies, including the Bureau of Public Procurement, Budget Office of the Federation, Office of the Accountant-General, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Power and Office of the Auditor-General, after they repeatedly failed to appear before the committee or submit required documents.
He directed the affected institutions to appear before the panel not later than 8 December, warning that the House would invoke its constitutional powers if the agencies continued to evade oversight.
Mr Aliyu said the committee would not allow delays that could compromise a probe covering trillions of naira spent on power reforms that have yet to deliver stable electricity to Nigerians.
Yet, another defection, APC’s gain
The week ended with another round of political realignment in the House. Godwin Offiono, who represents Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency of Cross River State, resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party and joined the All Progressives Congress.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu read the defection letter during Wednesday’s plenary.
Mr Offiono said deep-rooted structural issues within the PDP had undermined his efforts to serve his constituents effectively. He thanked the party for the platform it had provided, but said the prevailing situation had made continued membership untenable.
His defection adds to the ongoing partisan shifts in Cross River, a state that has recently become a battleground for influence between the APC and PDP at the state and federal levels.
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