The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday urged President Bola Tinubu to approve the recruitment of 100,000 additional military personnel to tackle insurgency, banditry, and rising school abductions across the country.
Lawmakers also called for a thorough investigation into the spending of funds under the Safe School Programme.
The Senate’s actions followed the recent attack on Government Girls’ Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, where gunmen killed a vice principal and abducted 25 students.
During plenary, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) highlighted the urgency of expanding the country’s security apparatus.
“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.
Oshiomhole also questioned the handling of funds allocated to the Safe School Programme.
“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?” he asked, calling for a Senate-led investigation and greater use of technology to track criminals.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio supported the proposals, emphasizing that security challenges should not be politicized.
“Crime is crime. It doesn’t matter under which administration it happens. May the souls of our fellow Nigerians and the vice principal who died protecting students rest in peace,” he said.
The call for fresh recruitment and a probe of Safe School funds was unanimously adopted by lawmakers across party lines during the session, which included a closed-door meeting to discuss classified security issues.
Despite Nigeria’s military being ranked the third most powerful in Africa by Global Firepower 2022, senators argued that operational capacity remains insufficient to secure schools in conflict-prone areas.
UNICEF has consistently urged the full implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration, emphasizing the need for secure and inclusive learning environments.
Security agencies, including the police and military, have launched search-and-rescue operations following the Kebbi attack.
