Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate Leader has strongly condemned the abduction of students and teachers in Borno and Oyo states, describing the attacks as a direct threat to Nigeria’s future and national development.
Bamidele, who also serves as Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said the latest incidents further underscored the urgency of establishing state police to strengthen the country’s security framework.
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In a statement issued on Sunday through his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, the Senate leader called for coordinated and strategic actions to secure schools nationwide and tackle the growing out-of-school children crisis.
Gunmen had on Friday reportedly kidnapped 45 students and teachers from Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School, and L.A Primary School in Esiele, located in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
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Within the same period, suspected Boko Haram insurgents invaded Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, abducting 42 students.
Reacting to the incidents, Bamidele said the National Assembly was already at an advanced stage of constitutional amendments that would pave the way for the creation of state police.
According to him, “the process will soon be completed at the National Assembly.”
He explained that after the federal legislature concludes its work, the proposal would be transmitted to state Houses of Assembly for consideration and approval.
The Senate leader noted that the amendment would require endorsement by at least two-thirds of the state legislatures before state police could officially take effect.
Bamidele urged governors and state lawmakers across the federation to treat the proposal as a matter of national security rather than subject it to political, ethnic or religious sentiments.
He also challenged both federal and state governments to fully implement the Safe School Initiative as an interim solution to reduce insecurity in schools and address the country’s out-of-school children population, estimated at 18.3 million.
Describing the repeated attacks on schools as unacceptable, Bamidele said: “The incessant abduction of students and teachers is a tragic national concern that negates our national development indices. We cannot and must not allow it to continue.
“At the National Assembly, we will rise against this trend and put an end to it through the instrumentality of legislation.”
He added that lawmakers would prioritise security-related bills once plenary resumes on June 2.
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“As soon as the National Assembly resumes plenaries on June 2, we will perfect all outstanding legislative initiatives that have been introduced to decisively address security challenges in the federation.
“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.
