The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday took a decisive stance on national security, formally categorising kidnapping and banditry as acts of terrorism and endorsing the maximum death penalty for all related offences.
The resolutions followed a heated plenary debate presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The motion, initially brought forward by Senator Ashiru Oyelola Yisa (Kwara South) and subsequently amended by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, reflects the legislature’s determination to confront the rising tide of criminality and school raids across the country.
In one of its firmest security measures in recent years, the Senate declared that “all laws concerning kidnapping should now be treated as terrorism, carrying the death penalty as the maximum punishment. Judges shall not have the discretion to reduce sentences or impose fines.” To ensure prompt legal implementation, Senate Leader Bamidele was instructed to introduce an amendment bill “at the earliest opportunity.”
The chamber also approved the establishment of a new Joint Task Force (JTF) aimed at bolstering security along the Kwara–Kogi corridor. Forward Operating Bases are to be set up in Eruku, Babanla, Oke-Ero, Isanlu, and Wasagu in Kebbi State, enhancing operational reach and rapid response capabilities.
Lawmakers further called on the Federal Government to support local vigilante groups and to review Nigeria’s firearms laws, noting that in over 175 countries, responsible citizens are permitted to own weapons under regulated conditions.
A key feature of the Senate’s resolutions is a full investigation into the withdrawal of military personnel from a Kebbi school just hours before a bandit attack. All Senate security committees were mandated to probe the troop withdrawal, as well as examine the circumstances surrounding the death of Brigadier-General M. Uba in Maiduguri, and to report back to the chamber within two weeks.
The measures highlight the Senate’s growing alarm over the persistent surge in kidnappings, bandit raids, and school attacks nationwide.
Reports from SaharaReporters indicated that terror struck Eruku town in Kwara State’s Ekiti Local Government Area, where attackers stormed a Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) branch, killing three worshippers and abducting several others, including the pastor. Eyewitnesses said the gunmen opened fire during a meeting, sending worshippers fleeing in panic.
Earlier this month, mass abductions also occurred in Kebbi and Niger states, further underscoring the urgency behind the Senate’s security resolutions.
