Thursday, June 9, 2026 - The Senate has urged the Federal Government to halt the policy of rehabilitating and reintegrating former Boko Haram members into society, and ensure that perpetrators of terrorism and banditry are, instead, arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.
The resolutions followed a motion of urgent national
importance on escalating attacks, abductions and killings of serving and
retired military personnel, sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on
Army, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, during plenary on Tuesday, July 7.
The Senate condemned, in strong terms, the worsening
insecurity in Nigeria, describing it as increasingly complex, persistent and
alarming, manifesting through terrorism, insurgency, banditry, kidnapping,
attacks on communities and continued loss of innocent lives across the country.
Debate on the issue drew contributions from senators across
party lines, reflecting deep concerns within the National Assembly over a
security crisis that has, in recent years, expanded beyond its traditional
North-East epicentre to touch virtually every zone of the country.
This happened as the Nigerian Army announced the surrender
of two senior terrorist commanders to troops of Operation Hadin Kai in Borno
State, saying the detained suspects have provided valuable intelligence
expected to aid ongoing operations against insurgents in the North-East.
The Senate observed a minute of silence in honour of late
Major-General Rabe Abubakar, former Director of Defence Information, and all
Nigerians who lost their lives to terrorism, insurgency, banditry and
kidnapping across the federation. It resolved that the Senate leadership will
immediately constitute a delegation of senators to visit the family of the late
General, the Katsina State government and the Nigerian Army to convey its
condolences.
Moving the motion, Senator Yar’Adua said the killing of
General Abubakar and other retired officers “represents not only personal
tragedy but also a painful national loss demanding urgent action.”
He said retired officers remained attractive targets for terrorists and kidnappers because of their previous operational, intelligence and command responsibilities, warning that persistent attacks on security personnel undermines troop morale and emboldens criminal groups challenging authority of the state.
Senator Yar’Adua listed a string of attacks on retired senior officers across Zamfara, Imo, Abuja, Katsina, Kogi and Plateau states since 2023. On January 1, 2023, Colonel Rabiu Garba Yandoto (retd) and his two children were abducted by bandits along the Gusau–Tsafe Road, Zamfara State, and later released after negotiations.
On September 27, 2023, Major General Richard Chukwudi Duru
was kidnapped in Owerri, Imo State, and killed by his abductors despite his
family paying a $50,000 ransom. On June 22, 2024, Brigadier-General Uwem Harold
Udokwere (retd) was murdered by intruders who invaded his residence in
Lokogoma, Abuja.
On February 5, 2025, Brigadier-General Maharazu Tsiga
(retd), former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, was
abducted at his residence in Katsina State and regained freedom after 56 days
in captivity.
On May 21, 2025, Retired Major Joe Ajayi was abducted from
his residence in Kogi State and died in captivity. In January 2026, Colonel
Joseph Ajanaku (retd) was abducted in Plateau State and later rescued by
security forces in a special operation. On May 30, 2026, Retired Major-General
Rabe Abubakar was abducted alongside his wife by suspected terrorists in
Katsina State and subsequently died in captivity.
The Senate said the pattern undermines morale within the
armed forces, weakens public confidence in the state’s capacity to provide
security, and emboldens criminal elements who perceive the state as incapable
of protecting even those who once defended it.
The de-radicalisation and reintegration programme targeted
by the Senate has, for years, formed a central plank of the Federal
Government’s non-kinetic approach to ending the North-East insurgency, with
repentant fighters screened and resettled in host communities after
rehabilitation
That rationale came under direct fire on the Senate floor,
yesterday, with lawmakers arguing that the policy had, in practice, come to be
seen by ordinary Nigerians as rewarding violence rather than deterring it.
The call to halt the rehabilitation of former insurgents was
raised as an additional prayer by Senator Joseph Ikpea who argued that the
policy had become a source of growing public concern deserving urgent
legislative attention.
He stated, “Mr. President, my additional prayer is that the issue of insecurity has become something Nigerians are deeply concerned about. One of the issues we need to look at is the rehabilitation of Boko Haram members. My additional prayer is to stop the rehabilitation of Boko Haram.”
The proposal was seconded by Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who said the policy of rehabilitating and reintegrating former insurgents defies logic at a time victims of terrorism and families of fallen security personnel are still grappling with the consequences of insurgent attacks.
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