During a contentious Senate plenary session on Tuesday, the 18th of November, 2025, the Senate President Godswill Akpabio sought to temper a heated discussion regarding the nation’s escalating security crisis.
The debate was triggered by a particularly violent 24-hour period, which saw the tragic killing of Brigadier-General Uba Musa in Borno State and a devastating attack in Kebbi State involving the abduction of 25 schoolgirls and the murder of a vice principal.
Presiding over the chamber as senators struggled to unify their stance on the worsening insecurity, Akpabio intervened with a caution against allowing the nation to sink into despair. He highlighted Nigeria’s expansive geographical size and the increasing strain on its law enforcement and defense bodies.
Akpabio acknowledged the deep impact of the recent violence but stressed the logistical constraints faced by the country. “We sympathise deeply with the families affected, but we must remember that Nigeria is a very large country,” he stated. He elaborated on the immense manpower deficit, noting, “It is not even possible to deploy one policeman to each polling unit during elections. Our security agencies are overstretched and find themselves in places they shouldn’t ordinarily be.”
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The Senate President emphasized that security breaches are not unique to Nigeria, positioning crime as a universal dilemma that even the most powerful nations must grapple with. He asserted that no country is truly immune to criminality.
He used the global superpower as a point of reference to underscore his position: “There is no society without crime. Even the almighty America records crime on a daily basis. But we must continue to do our best to minimise it,” he stressed, maintaining that while incidents occur, the focus must remain on continuously improving security measures.