The Senate has begun the process of amending Nigeria’s Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, passing the amendment bill through first reading during Thursday’s plenary. The proposal, sponsored by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, comes barely a day after lawmakers, during a heated debate on the nation’s worsening insecurity, agreed that kidnapping should be classified as terrorism and made punishable by the death penalty.
The amendment bill is expected to pave the way for a stricter legal framework as senators push for harsher penalties in response to the alarming rise in abductions nationwide.
At the same plenary, the Senate set up an 18-member ad hoc committee to investigate the implementation of the Safe School Initiative, appointing Senator Orji Uzor Kalu as chairman. Other members include Senators Tony Nwoye, Yemi Adaramodu, Harry Ipalibo, Ede Dafinone, Mustapha Saliu, Diket Plang, Binus Yaroe, Kaka Shehu, Musa Garba Maidoki, among others.
The decision followed concerns over how allocated funds have been used, especially given the sustained attacks on schools. Lawmakers questioned why institutions remain vulnerable despite years of funding, a concern heightened by the recent deadly raid at Government Comprehensive Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, where gunmen killed the vice principal and reportedly abducted 25 students.
The committee, mandated to probe the programme thoroughly, is expected to submit its findings within four weeks.
These developments come amid widespread insecurity across the country. Last week, gunmen invaded St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Niger State, abducting more than 300 pupils and teachers. Similar attacks and abductions have also been recorded in Kwara, Kano, and Borno states.
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday declared a national security emergency and ordered increased recruitment into the armed forces and police. He also approved the use of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camps as training depots and directed that officers withdrawn from VIP protection duties undergo crash training before redeployment to high-risk areas.
Additionally, the President authorised the Department of State Services (DSS) to immediately deploy already trained forest guards to flush out terrorists and bandits hiding in forests across the country.
