The Nigerian Senate has urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Armed Forces to immediately recruit at least 100,000 additional personnel to bolster national security amid rising attacks on schools and communities.
The resolution followed a motion of urgent national importance by Senator Abdullahi Yahaya (Kebbi North), who reported a recent attack on the Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS) in Maga, Kebbi State, where terrorists abducted 25 students and fatally injured the school’s vice principal, Malam Hassan Makuku.
Describing the attack as “a slap on the face of the nation,” Yahaya warned that repeated assaults on schools endanger citizens and discourage girls from pursuing education. He recalled a similar abduction in 2022, noting that it took four years to secure the victims’ release.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the pattern of abductions as a “troubling recurrence,” citing the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ kidnapping as a historical reference. Lawmakers also expressed concern over the effectiveness and utilization of funds under the Safe School Initiative and have established an ad hoc committee, including members from the Senate Committee on Finance, to investigate.
The Senate observed a minute of silence in honour of Makuku, who was reportedly shot while protecting the students during the invasion. Witnesses said the gunmen operated with ease, spreading panic across the Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area.
In response, the Federal Government condemned the attack and vowed to rescue the abducted students. In a statement, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said security agencies have been directed to locate and safely return the girls while ensuring the perpetrators are brought to justice. President Tinubu emphasized the state’s responsibility to protect all Nigerians, especially schoolchildren.
Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris, who visited Maga to meet parents, security officials, and traditional rulers, assured families that every effort is being made to rescue the abducted students. “We gave them confidence and our word that security agencies will do everything necessary,” the governor said.
The incident has reignited national concern over school security and the rising trend of kidnappings across the country.
