President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday, proclaimed a nationwide security emergency and issued directives to the Armed Forces, Nigeria Police Force and intelligence agencies to expand recruitment and immediately deploy additional personnel across the country. He further urged the National Assembly to commence legislative action toward establishing state police in view of the escalating incidents of kidnapping and terrorist attacks recorded in the past week.
In an unusual break from routine alignment with the executive, several Senators and Members of the House of Representatives criticized the Federal Government for engaging in negotiations with armed groups responsible for recent abductions in Kwara and Kebbi States. The lawmakers demanded an immediate cessation of such negotiations and called for sanctions against any official implicated in the withdrawal of security personnel from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, shortly before the abduction of 24 students on 17 November.
Multiple coordinated attacks were also reported. Armed groups invaded St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Agwara LGA, Niger State, abducting over 300 pupils and 12 teachers, days after the Kebbi incident. During the Kebbi attack, the vice principal was killed and the principal injured. Approximately 50 students later escaped, while many remain unaccounted for. Another group attacked a CAC church in Kwara State, resulting in fatalities and mass abductions. The victims were subsequently released.
These events prompted widespread school closures across several northern states and the Federal Government’s directive to shut 41 Federal Unity Colleges for security reasons.
The Presidency defended its resort to dialogue, stating that negotiations were undertaken solely to ensure the safety of victims and denying payment of ransom. According to the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, security agencies refrained from direct engagement at the criminals’ location due to concerns that abducted persons were being used as shields.
Lawmakers, however, rejected this justification, arguing that negotiations would embolden criminal networks. During Senate plenary, members warned that Nigeria faced a grave security threat and rising public distrust. Debate intensified following the Senate’s earlier adoption of a motion commending the security agencies for securing the release of victims in Kwara and Niger States.
Senator Asiru Yisa (Kwara South), sponsor of the motion, condemned recent attacks in Kwara and raised concerns over reports of prior troop withdrawal from the Kebbi school. Several senior lawmakers—including the Deputy Senate President, Senate Leader and former governors—called for international support, comprehensive reform of security institutions and urgent clarification of operational lapses.
Opposition voices, including Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and Senator Seriake Dickson, insisted that the Administration must accept responsibility for systemic failures and avoid attributing the crisis to prior governments. Senate President Godswill Akpabio expressed concern over intelligence breaches and alleged sabotage within security formations.
Further controversy arose as lawmakers criticized inconsistencies in judicial outcomes involving armed groups and reiterated calls for capital punishment for kidnapping offenses.
House of Representatives Position
A coalition of Members of the House, representing all six geopolitical zones and acting under the banner “House to the Rescue,” issued a statement condemning the Federal Government’s engagement with bandit groups. They described the negotiations as “a betrayal of the Nigerian people” and cited international examples where similar strategies had exacerbated insecurity.
The coalition demanded an immediate halt to all negotiations, the launch of a coordinated nationwide security operation, publication of a comprehensive security strategy with accountability structures and legislative investigations into unauthorized contacts or concessions to criminal groups.
Political Party Intervention
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) similarly cautioned the Federal Government against secret negotiations, alleging opacity in the release of abducted victims. The ADC criticized conflicting official accounts and questioned whether ransom payments or other concessions were involved. The party warned that such actions risked incentivizing further attacks and criticized the closure of unity schools as a signal of state incapacity.
Former Vice President’s Remarks
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also faulted the Federal Government’s reliance on dialogue, arguing that such actions suggested state weakness and emboldened non-state actors. He accused the Administration of misrepresenting events to conceal operational shortcomings and questioned why alleged criminal elements were neither arrested nor neutralized.
Presidential Directives on Recruitment
President Tinubu, in a statement issued Wednesday, authorized the recruitment of 20,000 additional police personnel—bringing the total authorized recruitment to 50,000—and directed the Armed Forces and DSS to equally expand their ranks. He approved the temporary conversion of National Youth Service Corps camps into police training facilities and ordered officers withdrawn from VIP security duties to undergo retraining for deployment to high-risk areas.
The President emphasized that forest guards trained by the DSS were to be deployed immediately to counter armed groups operating from forested areas.
He urged citizens to maintain vigilance, report suspicious activity and support security agencies in the national effort.
Southern Governors’ Forum Position
At a meeting hosted in Ogun State, the Southern Governors’ Forum declared the creation of state police “non-negotiable,” stating that rising attacks across the federation demonstrated the insufficiency of the current centralized policing structure. The governors applauded the President’s recent decisions but insisted that decentralising policing was essential to safeguarding schools, rural communities and critical infrastructure.
Police Recruitment Committee
In compliance with the presidential directive, the Police Service Commission (PSC) and Nigeria Police Force (NPF) inaugurated a joint ad-hoc committee to commence recruitment of 30,000 new police personnel. The Committee is mandated to ensure a transparent, merit-based and efficient process.
FCT Security Measures
The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, reported that a reinforced intelligence and patrol network had been established across schools and religious institutions within Abuja under the renewed “Operation Sweep.”
Additional Developments
The Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese confirmed the deaths of two parents whose children were among the abducted, attributing the tragedies to medical complications linked to distress following the mass abductions.#newsafro_
