The Senate has asked the Federal Government to suspend the rehabilitation and reintegration programme for Boko Haram members.
By Emma Ogbuehi
In apparent response to the groundswell of opinions by Nigerians across the country, the Senate has asked the Federal Government to suspend the rehabilitation and reintegration programme for Boko Haram members. Instead, the lawmakers urged security agencies to intensify efforts to arrest and prosecute terrorists and other criminal elements responsible for attacks across the country.
The resolution was adopted during the plenary on Tuesday following a motion sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua on the escalating attacks, abductions and killings of serving and retired military personnel, which he described as a growing threat to national security and state authority.
The Senate also directed its committees responsible for security matters to strengthen oversight of security agencies and ensure that the nation’s security chiefs are put on their toes over the security situation.
As part of its resolutions, the upper chamber also resolved that a delegation led by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, should meet with President Bola Tinubu to discuss the worsening security crisis.
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The demand by the Senate comes on the heels of recent call by ex-generals for a more decisive approach to tackling insecurity in the country, if the war against terrorism and banditry will yield desired results. According to the retired senior officers, negotiations alone cannot end banditry and terrorism in Nigeria. The generals comprising friends and associates of the late director, Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Rabe (retd), also called for urgent reforms in Nigeria’s security architecture, following his death in the hands of bandits after being kidnapped in Katsina State. They also called for stronger political will at all levels of government to address the security crisis.
Presenting the motion on Tuesday, Senator Yar’Adua lamented the increasing wave of attacks targeting serving and retired military officers across several states, noting that the incidents have resulted in deaths, prolonged captivity, ransom payments, emotional trauma and economic hardship for victims, their families and the nation.
He cited several high-profile cases, including the abduction of retired Colonel Rabiu Garba Yandoto and his two children along the Gusau-Tsafe road in Zamfara state on January 1, 2023, and the kidnapping and subsequent killing of retired Major General Richard Chukwudi Duru in Imo state in September 2023, despite the payment of a $50,000 ransom.
Chronicling events, the lawmaker also recalled the murder of retired Brigadier Gen. Uwem Udokwere, who was killed by intruders at his residence in Lokogoma, Abuja, in June 2024, as well as the abduction of former National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Director General, Brigadier General Maharazu Tsiga (retd), who spent 56 days in captivity before regaining his freedom in April 2025.
The abduction and death of retired Major Joe Ajayi in Kogi state in May 2025; the kidnapping and subsequent rescue of retired Colonel Joseph Ajanaku in Plateau state in January 2026; and the abduction and death in captivity of former Director of Defence Information, Major General Rabe Abubakar (retd), kidnapped alongside his wife in Katsina state on May 30, 2026.
Senator Yar’Adua said the killing of retired Major General Abubakar and other victims while in the custody of terrorists represents a painful national loss and underscores the persistent insecurity confronting the country.
He warned that the increasing targeting of serving and retired military personnel by terrorists and criminal groups signals a dangerous shift in the nation’s security landscape, particularly because many of the victims had previously held sensitive operational, intelligence and command positions within the country’s security architecture.
Following deliberations, the Senate resolved to call on the Federal Government to halt the rehabilitation and reintegration of terrorists, ensure the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for violent crimes and strengthen the nation’s security response through enhanced oversight and engagement with the presidency.
