The Senate has condemned the abduction of 87 students and teachers in separate attacks across Borno and Oyo states within 24 hours, describing the incidents as a grave assault on Nigeria’s future.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele issued the condemnation in a statement released on Sunday through his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs.
He said the repeated school kidnappings were especially disturbing, recalling that $30 million was raised in 2014 to strengthen the safety of public and private schools across the country.
In the Oyo incident, suspected gunmen reportedly abducted 45 students and teachers from Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School, and L.A. Primary School in Esiele, Oriire Local Government Area.
In a separate attack in Borno State, Boko Haram insurgents stormed Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira/Uba Local Government Area, abducting 42 students.
Bamidele, who also serves as Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said the twin attacks highlight the urgent need for the creation of state police.
He explained that the 10th National Assembly is currently advancing constitutional amendments aimed at establishing state police, noting that the process would soon be completed before being sent to state assemblies for approval.
According to him, the proposal would require approval by two-thirds of state Houses of Assembly before becoming law.
He urged state governments and legislators to treat the matter as a national priority rather than a political or ethnic issue.
Bamidele also called for the temporary strengthening of the Safe School Initiative while the proposed reforms are being concluded, noting that Nigeria still has an estimated 18.3 million out-of-school children.
He described the repeated abductions of schoolchildren as a serious setback to national development.
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“One of such initiatives is the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution that seeks to establish state police, which is now at an advanced stage.
“Another is the amendment of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 aimed at strengthening the system of consequence in the country’s justice sector and discouraging heinous crimes nationwide,” he said.
He added that the National Assembly would continue legislative efforts to address insecurity when plenary resumes on June 2.