Nigeria’s House of Representatives has summoned the country’s top security and defence officials to explain a worsening wave of kidnappings and bandit attacks, amid growing concern that billions of naira spent on security have failed to translate into meaningful improvements on the ground.
Lawmakers resolved on Tuesday to invite the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, and the government’s chief fiscal adviser, Taiwo Oyedele, to account for funds released to the defence sector over the past six months and explain why security conditions remain dire across large parts of the country.
The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Sulaiman Gumi, the lawmaker representing Gummi/Bukkuyum federal constituency in Zamfara state, who painted a bleak picture of escalating violence across Nigeria’s north-west.
Addressing the chamber, Gumi said entire communities were being devastated by relentless attacks from heavily armed bandit groups, worsening an already severe humanitarian crisis in a region struggling with economic hardship and displacement.
According to the lawmaker, between 1 and 6 June, armed gangs riding on approximately 250 motorcycles launched coordinated attacks on communities in Zamfara and neighbouring parts of Sokoto state, killing at least 93 people.
He also cited the abduction of seven students from an off-campus hostel belonging to the Federal Polytechnic in Kaura Namoda, Zamfara state, during a night raid earlier this month. Two senior lecturers from the institution, he said, had previously been kidnapped and held for more than two months despite ransom payments being made.
Gumi further highlighted attacks in Zurmi and Talata Mafara local government areas, where residents, public officials and travellers were abducted or killed. In one case, he told lawmakers, bandits murdered two local government officials after rejecting offers of ransom for their release.
The lawmaker said the violence was no longer confined to Zamfara, warning that neighbouring states including Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Jigawa were experiencing similar attacks.
He referenced an assault on Dangulbi community in Sokoto state’s Tureta local government area, where 17 villagers were reportedly killed after hundreds of armed men stormed the settlement on motorcycles. More than 15 communities across Tureta and Sabon Birni local government areas, he said, had since been abandoned by residents fleeing persistent violence.
Gumi also drew attention to the recent abduction of retired Major General Rabe Abubakar Batsari and his wife in Katsina state, after gunmen ambushed their vehicle along the Marabar Musawa-Kafinsoli road.
“Just yesterday, 50 elderly men were kidnapped and are still being held captive in Zamfara State,” he told the House, adding that attacks continued to spread across rural communities in Kaduna and Kano states.
He warned that the apparent ease with which armed groups moved between towns, state boundaries and forest hideouts was undermining public confidence in the country’s security architecture and threatening the region’s economic future.
The debate quickly broadened into a wider discussion about structural reforms to Nigeria’s security system.
Abubakar Yalleman, a lawmaker from Jigawa state, urged the National Assembly to accelerate consideration of proposals for the creation of state police forces, arguing that decentralised policing had become essential in tackling increasingly localised security threats.
The call was backed by Olumide Osoba, a representative from Ogun state, who said existing security arrangements were struggling to respond effectively to the scale of the crisis.
Other lawmakers focused on the financial infrastructure supporting kidnappings. Babajimi Benson, who represents Ikorodu federal constituency in Lagos, called on the federal government to reconsider aspects of its cashless policy, arguing that tighter controls on cash movement could make ransom payments more difficult.
Ademorin Kuye, representing Shomolu federal constituency, urged authorities to formally prohibit ransom payments and strengthen oversight of Bureau De Change operators to curb illicit financial flows that may be fuelling criminal networks.
Following the debate, the House resolved to summon the officials at a date yet to be announced and called on the defence ministry to deploy additional personnel and operational resources to Zamfara and other parts of the north-west.
Lawmakers also urged the ministries responsible for agriculture, environment, education, humanitarian affairs and disaster management to pursue non-military approaches to tackling insecurity, including measures aimed at addressing the social and economic drivers of conflict.
The House subsequently mandated its Committee on Defence and other relevant committees to monitor implementation of the resolutions and report back within two weeks for further legislative action.
The intervention reflects mounting political pressure on the federal government as kidnappings, banditry and communal violence continue to challenge security agencies despite increased defence spending and repeated military operations across affected regions.
