The Senate has called on the federal government to discontinue the rehabilitation programme for repentant Boko Haram members following the abduction and killing of military officers.

The decision followed the adoption of an additional prayer on Tuesday during deliberations on the country’s security situation.

The prayer, proposed by Joseph Ikpea, senator representing Edo Central, was adopted through a voice vote during consideration of a motion on the escalating attacks, abductions and killings of serving and retired military personnel.

Supporting the proposal, Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo North, said: “It does not make even common sense to grant pardon and rehabilitate criminals”.

The motion, sponsored by Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, Senator representing Katsina Central and Chairman, Senate Committee on the Nigerian Army, was prompted by the abduction and death of Rabe Abubakar, a retired Major General and former Director of Defence Information.

Abubakar died in captivity after he was kidnapped alongside his wife in Katsina State.

Leading the debate during Tuesday’s plenary, Yar’Adua described the country’s security situation as a “national emergency”.

He said insecurity had assumed “increasingly complex, persistent and alarming dimensions”, manifesting through terrorism, insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, violent attacks on communities and the destruction of livelihoods across several parts of the country.

“The death of the retired Major General and others in the custody of terrorists represents not only personal tragedies but also a painful national loss and a stark reminder of the scale and persistence of insecurity confronting the nation,” he said.

Yar’Adua said terrorists had become increasingly sophisticated and emboldened, extending their attacks beyond civilian communities to serving and retired military officers.

“The increasing frequency with which serving and retired military personnel are being targeted by criminal and terrorist groups represents a dangerous evolution in the nation’s security challenges,” he said.

The senator warned that attacks on current and former military personnel undermine the morale of security agencies, weaken public confidence in the state’s ability to provide security and embolden criminal groups.

He listed a series of attacks on senior military officers, including the abduction of Rabiu Garba Yandoto, a retired colonel, in Zamfara in January 2023; the kidnap and killing of Richard Duru, retired major general, in Imo in September 2023 despite the payment of ransom; the murder of Uwem Udokwere, retired brigadier general, in Abuja in June 2024; the abduction of Maharazu Tsiga, former NYSC director-general, in Katsina in February 2025; the death of Joe Ajayi, a retired major, in captivity in Kogi in May 2025; the abduction and rescue of Joseph Ajanaku, a retired colonel, in Plateau in January 2026.

’PERPETRATORS MUST BE ARRESTED’

Seconding the motion, Osita Izunaso, Senator representing Imo West, urged security agencies to ensure those responsible for the attacks were arrested.

“We have to mandate them to ensure that these people are arrested because we are all following the incident. The perpetrators must be arrested and brought to book,” he said.

Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, said insecurity had made travelling unsafe even for public office holders.

“It’s becoming increasingly dangerous for people, even like us who are protected by the government, to move around the roads these days,” Moro said.

He recounted the killing of a professor near a police checkpoint in Benue State.

“They just shot him dead right there, very close to a police checkpoint. If people can conveniently be killed like that, then it becomes increasingly scary that we are all walking corpses,” he said.

Moro urged the Senate leadership to meet with President Bola Tinubu to brief him on lawmakers’ concerns over the security situation.

Senator representing Bauchi Central, Abdul Ningi, questioned why criminal groups were controlling parts of the country.

“Is this country at war? If we are not at war, why are non-government bodies controlling parts of this country?” Ningi asked.

He also called for an investigation into the number of security personnel killed across the country and the support available to their families.

Responding to the debate, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, defended the efforts of the armed forces and other security agencies.

“Our men in uniform are doing their best. They are working very hard,” Barau said.

He added that terrorism and banditry had become regional challenges affecting several West African countries.

“The issue of banditry and terrorism has a global dimension. The entire West African region is confronted with this sad reality, from Mali to Burkina Faso, Niger and beyond,” he said.

OTHER RESOLUTIONS

The Senate also urged security and intelligence agencies to strengthen intelligence gathering, intelligence sharing, surveillance operations, threat assessment mechanisms and early warning systems.

Lawmakers called for deeper collaboration with local communities, traditional institutions and religious leaders to improve community-based intelligence and trust-driven security partnerships.

The upper legislative chamber further urged the federal government to accelerate the deployment of modern security technologies, including unmanned aerial systems, geospatial intelligence capabilities, integrated command and control platforms and advanced communications systems to combat terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.

Lawmakers also mandated the Senate leadership to constitute a delegation to visit the family of the late Abubakar, the Katsina state government and the Nigerian Army to convey the condolences of the Senate.

…insider sheds light on reason for his arrest

Professor Martin Aghaji, personal doctor to Nnamdi Kanu, has been arrested by Nigeria’s security operatives, Aloy Ejimakor, Mr Kanu’s lawyer said in an X post on Saturday.

Mr Kanu is the convicted leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). He is serving life imprisonment in Sokoto State after a federal high court in Abuja convicted him in November for terrorism.

Mr Ejimakor said in the X post that Mr Aghaji, a retired professor, was arrested at his residence in Enugu State on Friday.

The lawyer did not specifically say which operatives arrested the medical doctor, although he suggested that the arrest was connected to a medical report issued by the doctor on Mr Kanu which contradicted a similar report by the Department of  State Security (DSS).

“This is the height of the official harassment he has been facing since he issued the medical report that did not comport with the SSS’s medical report on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” Mr Ejimakor said.

How they arrested the medical doctor

In another post on Sunday evening, the lawyer claimed “the security operatives” stormed Mr Aghaji’s residence at about 3:00 a.m., violently pulled down his gate and forcibly gained entry” into the apartment.

“During the commotion, shots were fired. They’ve now taken him to Lagos,” he stated.

Release of the doctor

Mr Ejimakor, in a fresh post on Sunday night, announced that Mr Aghaji has been released from detention following the intervention of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and other bodies.

“While welcoming this development, the DSS is hereby admonished to do better than this,” he said, suggesting that the secret police earlier carried out the arrest.

DSS speaks

When contacted on Monday, the spokesperson of the DSS, Favour Dozie, confirmed the secret police indeed arrested Mr Aghaji from his residence in Enugu.

Ms Dozie, however, said the arrest was never linked to Mr Kanu or IPOB.

“He was arrested, but not in connection with Nnamdi Kanu,” she said, refusing to give details because the matter was under investigation.

The DSS spokesperson stressed that the retired professor’s arrest could not have been linked to Mr Kanu because the IPOB leader had already been convicted by a court and currently serving jail term.

She confirmed that Mr Aghaji was granted administrative bail and subsequently released to the NMA leadership in Lagos State on Sunday after providing a credible individual as his surety.

An official of the DSS later informed PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Aghaji’s arrest followed his alleged financial transactions to high-profile criminals under investigation.

“He was even sorry about it when he was informed of the transactions he made. The man himself felt very bad,” said the official who asked not to be named because he did not have permission to speak on the matter.

The father of Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, who is facing criminal charges over alleged forgery and impersonation, was reportedly arrested by police operatives on Monday in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

Residents told journalists that the arrest took place at the family’s residence, where officers reportedly arrived in several vehicles before taking Adeniyi’s father and another man said to have been visiting the home into custody.

Witnesses said the operation drew the attention of residents and caused anxiety within the household, particularly for the suspect’s elderly mother.

A resident, who requested anonymity, alleged that the officers quickly secured the premises and left with the two men, while a security presence remained in the area for some time after the operation.

Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi is currently standing trial over allegations of forgery, impersonation and related offences arising from claims linked to the purported Presidential Fiscal and Infrastructure Projects Council.

The case is pending before the court.

As of the time of filing this report, the Oyo State Police Command had not issued an official statement confirming or explaining the reported arrests.