The Senate on Thursday began the formal process of amending Nigeria’s Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, as lawmakers passed the amendment bill for first reading during plenary.
The bill, sponsored by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, comes barely 24 hours after senators engaged in a tense debate over escalating national insecurity and unanimously agreed that kidnapping should be classified as terrorism and punished by the death penalty.
If passed, the amendment will overhaul Nigeria’s counterterrorism legal framework, imposing far tougher penalties on kidnappers amid a surge in abductions across the country.
Senate Launches Probe Into Safe School Initiative
In a related development, the Senate has set up an 18-member ad hoc committee to investigate the implementation of the Safe School Initiative, appointing Senator Orji Uzor Kalu as chairman.
Members of the committee include Senators Tony Nwoye, Yemi Adaramodu, Harry Ipalibo, Ede Dafinone, Mustapha Saliu, Diket Plang, Binus Yaroe, Kaka Shehu, and Musa Garba Maidoki, among others.
The decision follows widespread concern among lawmakers over the persistent attacks on schools nationwide, despite years of budgetary allocations to secure educational institutions.
Their worries deepened after the recent assault on Government Comprehensive Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, where gunmen killed the vice principal and reportedly abducted 25 students.
The motion establishing the committee gained further traction following additional prayers moved by Senator Adams Oshiomhole. The panel is expected to submit its findings within four weeks.
Rising Insecurity Across States
The Senate’s actions come amid a troubling escalation of violence nationwide. Last week, armed men stormed St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri, in Niger State, abducting over 300 schoolchildren and teachers.
Similar attacks and kidnappings were recorded in Kwara, Kano, and Borno states, raising fresh alarms about the nation’s security architecture.
In response, President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday declared a national security emergency, ordering immediate recruitment into the Nigerian Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force.
The President approved the temporary use of NYSC camps as training depots, directing that officers withdrawn from VIP security duties undergo “crash training” before deployment to crisis-prone areas.
Tinubu also directed the Department of State Services (DSS) to deploy all trained forest guards to flush out terrorists and bandits entrenched in the country’s forests.
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