The House of Representatives on Tuesday pressed President Bola Tinubu to mount an aggressive military campaign to crush the criminal networks behind a surge of banditry, mass kidnappings and attacks on schools and houses of worship.
Lawmakers raised concerns that rising insecurity has fractured daily life in many parts of the country.
In a motion brought to the floor by Representative Ibe Okwara Osonwa, the House of Representatives urged President Tinubu, in his role as commander in chief, to “immediately deploy a comprehensive security strategy” to flush bandits from their strongholds and secure vulnerable communities.
Lawmakers warned that incremental measures have failed and called for forceful, sustained action to dismantle the armed groups.
“These are not isolated incidents,” Mr. Osonwa told the green chamber.
“Worshippers now face abduction during religious gatherings; schoolchildren are being snatched on their way to class,” he noted, adding that the attacks have interrupted education, driven thousands out of school and deepened an already serious out‑of‑school crisis.
“Ordinary Nigerians are bearing the brunt—businesses collapsing, farms abandoned, families impoverished as they scramble to pay ransoms,” he said.
The motion described the security collapse as a constitutional failing, citing Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which assigns the government responsibility for protecting citizens’ lives and property.
Lawmakers described the current security architecture as overstretched and incapable of mounting the sort of coordinated offensive they say is required.
House members called for an immediate, intelligence‑led campaign combining military pressure, targeted raids and improved protection for schools and places of worship. They also demanded the unconditional release of all captives and stronger safeguards for rural communities that have repeatedly been targeted.
To ensure follow‑through, the House asked its Committees on Defence, National Security and Intelligence, and Army to monitor implementation of any measures and report back within two weeks.
The demand for swift accountability indicates growing impatience in the legislature with what lawmakers portray as a faltering security response.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Tuesday also called for the immediate deployment of additional security personnel and operational equipment to Zamfara State and other parts of the North-West to curb the rising wave of bandit attacks, kidnappings and killings across the region.
This followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Sulaiman Abubakar Gumi, who represents Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency in Zamfara State and chairs the House Committee on North-West Development Commission, NWDC
Presenting the motion on the floor of the House, Gumi described the security situation in Zamfara and the wider North-West as a growing humanitarian crisis fuelled by armed banditry, kidnappings, cattle rustling and the activities of transnational terrorist groups.
He said, “The insecurity in Zamfara State and the entire North-West region has escalated into a complex humanitarian crisis driven by armed banditry, kidnappings, cattle rustling and the infiltration of transnational terrorist and jihadist groups.”
The lawmaker expressed concern over a series of recent attacks across the region, noting that several communities in Zamfara State came under renewed assaults by heavily armed bandits between June 1 and June 6, resulting in deaths, abductions, destruction of property and the displacement of residents.
He also drew attention to the abduction of seven students of the Federal Polytechnic, Kaura Namoda, on the night of June 2 and the early hours of June 3, 2026, from an off-campus hostel.
According to him, two senior lecturers of the institution who were kidnapped earlier have remained in captivity for more than two months despite the payment of ransom for their release.
Gumi further cited the attack on Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State where four people were killed and several travellers abducted.
He also recounted the abduction and subsequent killing of a councillor and a director from Talata Mafara Local Government Area who were travelling on official Hajj related duties.
“The bandits reportedly killed both officials after refusing to collect ransom for their release,” he said.
The lawmaker noted that the security challenge had spread beyond Zamfara to other North-West states, including Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Jigawa.
He recalled that on May 31, 2026, at least 17 villagers were killed when hundreds of bandits riding motorcycles invaded Dangulbi community in Tureta Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
He added that more than 15 communities in Tureta and Sabon Birni local government areas had reportedly been deserted as residents fled persistent attacks.
Gumi also cited the abduction of a former Director of Defence Information of the Nigerian Army, Major General Rabe Abubakar (retd), and his wife after their vehicle was ambushed along the Marabar Musawa-Kafinsoli Road in Katsina State.
He expressed concern that armed groups continued to move freely across communities and state boundaries, undermining public confidence in the nation’s security architecture.
“If the recurring trend of insecurity and kidnapping in Zamfara State and the entire North-West is not checked, it will destroy lives and ruin the socio-economic fortunes of the region,” he warned
Following deliberations, the House urged the Minister of Defence to deploy additional security personnel, surveillance assets and operational equipment to Zamfara State and other affected North-West states.
The lawmakers also mandated the House Committee on Defence and other relevant committees to ensure compliance and report back to the House within two weeks for further legislative action.
In addition, the House called on the Ministers of Agriculture, Environment, Education and Humanitarian Affairs, as well as the North-West Development Commission, to explore non-kinetic approaches to addressing the root causes of insecurity, including poverty, unemployment, environmental degradation and lack of educational opportunities.
The lawmakers maintained that a combination of military action and socio-economic interventions would be necessary to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region.
