The Senate has strongly urged state governments to immediately halt all negotiations and peace accords with terrorists and armed bandits. Lawmakers warned that these peace deals consistently fail to produce lasting security and instead function as a revenue stream that inadvertently finances further criminal operations.
The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West), who raised alarms over a deadly surge in terrorist activity within his senatorial district.
Senator Karimi detailed a horrifying recent assault on Iluke-Bunu in the Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, where terrorists invaded a secondary school. The attackers attempted to abduct students sitting for their Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE), resulting in the tragic deaths of the school’s vice principal, a teacher, and a local community member.
This school invasion occurred just twenty-four hours after a separate violent assault on a private residence in Odo-Ere, Yagba West Local Government Area, on June 8, 2026.
Expressing outrage over the modern tactics of criminal gangs, the Senate directed the Nigeria Police Force and the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre to actively track and apprehend armed bandits utilizing digital spaces.
Lawmakers noted that bandits have increasingly taken to social media platforms, particularly TikTok, to openly engage with the public while aggressively flaunting large sums of cash believed to be the direct proceeds of kidnappings and ransoms.
SENATE SECURITY DIRECTIVE:
- STATES: Terminate all dialogue, amnesty, and financial peace accords with bandits.
- POLICE & CYBER FORCES: Track and arrest criminals using TikTok to flaunt ransom money.
- NCSALW: Summoning of the arms control commander to address weapons proliferation.
Arms Control Enforcement
In a bid to address the root causes of the escalating violence, the Senate has formally invited the Commander of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW). The commander will be required to brief the lawmakers on the challenges of weapons proliferation in Nigeria and outline strategic solutions to plug the country’s porous borders against illegal arms.
The Senate reiterated that the ultimate responsibility of the government is the protection of lives and property, insisting that total law enforcement, rather than pacification, is the only viable path to restoring national security.
