The Senate on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, urged the Federal Government to scrap the rehabilitation and reintegration programme for repentant Boko Haram members, saying the policy is no longer tenable amid worsening insecurity and relentless attacks on military personnel.
The resolution followed a debate on the country’s deteriorating security situation and the growing abduction and killing of serving and retired military officers.
The decision came after Senator Joseph Ikpea (Edo Central) proposed an additional prayer to a motion sponsored by Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Nigerian Army, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua (Katsina Central).
Presenting the motion, Yar’Adua described insecurity as a national emergency, warning that terrorism, insurgency, banditry and kidnapping had become more organized and deadlier across the country.
He cited the death of retired Major General Rabe Abubakar, a former Director of Defence Information, who died in captivity after he and his wife were abducted in Katsina State, as evidence of the escalating threat.
Yar’Adua said criminal groups were increasingly targeting serving and retired military personnel, a trend he warned was weakening troop morale, eroding public confidence and emboldening terrorists.
He recalled the abduction of retired Colonel Rabiu Garba Yandoto in Zamfara in January 2023; the kidnap and killing of retired Major General Richard Duru in Imo in September 2023; the murder of retired Brigadier General Uwem Udokwere in Abuja in June 2024; the abduction of former NYSC Director-General Maharazu Tsiga in Katsina in February 2025; the death of retired Major Joe Ajayi in captivity in Kogi in May 2025; and the abduction and rescue of retired Colonel Joseph Ajanaku in Plateau in January 2026.
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Backing the motion, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) said continuing to rehabilitate former terrorists was difficult to justify while Nigerians remained under constant threat.
Senator Osita Izunaso (Imo West) urged security agencies to track down and prosecute those behind the attacks, while Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro warned that insecurity had made road travel unsafe even for public officials. He called on the Senate leadership to brief President Bola Tinubu on lawmakers’ concerns.
Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) questioned why armed groups appeared to operate unchecked in parts of the country and called for a review of the number of security personnel killed nationwide and the support provided to their families.
Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau commended the Armed Forces and other security agencies, noting that terrorism and banditry had become regional threats affecting several West African countries.
The Senate subsequently urged security and intelligence agencies to strengthen intelligence gathering, surveillance, inter-agency coordination, threat assessment and early warning systems.
It also called for stronger collaboration with traditional rulers, religious leaders and local communities to improve intelligence gathering and accelerate the deployment of drones, geospatial intelligence tools, integrated command-and-control platforms and advanced communication technology to tackle terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.
The Senate further resolved to send a delegation to the family of the late Major General Abubakar, the Katsina State Government and the Nigerian Army to convey its condolences.