House of Representatives Calls for Federal Action on Banditry and School Abductions

The House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted a motion urging the federal government to take immediate action against rising banditry, mass kidnappings and attacks on schools and places of worship. The motion, sponsored by a lawmaker from Abia, cited Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution, which places the security and welfare of citizens as the primary responsibility of government.

The sponsor noted that continued abductions have disrupted education, forced thousands of children out of school and deepened the out-of-school children crisis. The lawmaker also stated that despite trillions of naira allocated to defence and security in successive budgets, the current security architecture appears overwhelmed and incapable of halting the operations of armed groups.

The House condemned the continued banditry, mass abductions and attacks on schools and places of worship. It agreed to transmit an urgent appeal to President Bola Tinubu reminding him of his constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property.

Lawmakers demanded the immediate deployment of a comprehensive security strategy aimed at dismantling bandit camps, securing schools and worship centres, and ensuring the unconditional release of all persons held by kidnappers. The House further resolved that if the administration is unable to halt the worsening insecurity within a specified period, the nation's service chiefs should honourably resign.

The motion was referred to the Committees on Defence, National Security and Intelligence, Army, and Civil Defence for further action.

The motion follows a series of mass abductions targeting schools.

In Oyo State, armed men on 15 May carried out coordinated attacks on schools and surrounding communities in Oriire Local Government Area, abducting 46 persons, including 39 students and seven teachers. Reports indicated that one of the abducted teachers was later killed while in captivity. The Oyo incident marked an expansion of large-scale school kidnappings into the South-west region.