The Senate has called on the federal government to discontinue the rehabilitation programme for repentant Boko Haram members following the abduction and killing of military officers.
The decision followed the adoption of an additional prayer on Tuesday during deliberations on the country’s security situation.
The prayer, proposed by Joseph Ikpea, senator representing Edo Central, was adopted through a voice vote during consideration of a motion on the escalating attacks, abductions and killings of serving and retired military personnel.
Supporting the proposal, Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo North, said: “It does not make even common sense to grant pardon and rehabilitate criminals”.
The motion, sponsored by Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, Senator representing Katsina Central and Chairman, Senate Committee on the Nigerian Army, was prompted by the abduction and death of Rabe Abubakar, a retired Major General and former Director of Defence Information.
Abubakar died in captivity after he was kidnapped alongside his wife in Katsina State.
Leading the debate during Tuesday’s plenary, Yar’Adua described the country’s security situation as a “national emergency”.
He said insecurity had assumed “increasingly complex, persistent and alarming dimensions”, manifesting through terrorism, insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, violent attacks on communities and the destruction of livelihoods across several parts of the country.
“The death of the retired Major General and others in the custody of terrorists represents not only personal tragedies but also a painful national loss and a stark reminder of the scale and persistence of insecurity confronting the nation,” he said.
Yar’Adua said terrorists had become increasingly sophisticated and emboldened, extending their attacks beyond civilian communities to serving and retired military officers.
“The increasing frequency with which serving and retired military personnel are being targeted by criminal and terrorist groups represents a dangerous evolution in the nation’s security challenges,” he said.
The senator warned that attacks on current and former military personnel undermine the morale of security agencies, weaken public confidence in the state’s ability to provide security and embolden criminal groups.
