The Senate on Tuesday called on President Bola Tinubu to approve the recruitment of 100,000 additional military personnel to tackle insurgency, banditry, and the rising wave of school abductions across the country.
Lawmakers also demanded a thorough investigation into the Safe School Programme, raising concerns over how funds allocated to the initiative were utilised despite persistent attacks on educational institutions.
The debate was sparked by the recent attack on Government Girls’ Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, where gunmen reportedly killed a vice principal and abducted 25 students.
The discussion gained momentum after Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) moved additional prayers during plenary, triggering a heated debate on Nigeria’s deteriorating security situation. Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the sitting, later shifted the chamber into a closed-door session for a classified briefing.
Leading the call for massive military recruitment and a security audit, Oshiomhole warned that the scale of insecurity demanded urgent expansion of the armed forces.
“I urge the President and the armed forces to recruit an additional 100,000 military personnel so we can have enough men and women in our troops. It is also another way to create employment for our youthful population,” he said.
He further demanded accountability on the Safe School Programme, saying:
“People have turned our security into a business. We should not monetise the death of our people. What happened to the money earmarked for the Safe School Programme?”
Oshiomhole also urged the Federal Government and relevant Senate committees to probe the utilisation of the funds and called for enhanced technological tools for security agencies.
“I call on the military to deploy technology and tracking devices to track these criminals,” he added.
The senator’s proposals were unanimously supported and adopted by members across party lines.
Responding, Senate President Godswill Akpabio backed the call for recruiting 100,000 fresh troops and endorsed a full probe into the Safe School Programme.
“We urge the Federal Government and the Senate committee to probe the spending. Unfortunately, these criminals are going after soft targets,” he said.
Akpabio cautioned against politicising insecurity and offered condolences to the families affected by the Kebbi school attack.
“But crime is crime. It doesn’t matter under which administration it takes place … All lives matter. May the souls of our fellow Nigerians and the vice principal who died protecting the students rest in peace.”
