Senate Moves To Classify Kidnapping As Terrorism, Seek Death Penalty For Offenders Amid Nationwide Security Crisis

Abuja,  Nigeria– The Senate has begun the process of classifying kidnapping as a terrorism offence—one that will attract the death penalty without the option of a fine.

The resolution, adopted during plenary on Wednesday, mandates Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele to ensure the proposal is fully captured in the Terrorism (Prevention) Act as lawmakers push for harsher consequences against what they described as an escalating wave of abductions across the country.

The motion, sponsored by Deputy Senate Leader Lola Ashiru, cited recent violent attacks and mass kidnappings in Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger states, warning that the situation has reached an intolerable level.

During a heated debate, senators expressed outrage over the surge in coordinated abductions, insisting that Nigeria must deploy extraordinary measures to confront the threat.

Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) said the time had come to impose the most severe punishment available under the law.

“Kidnapping must be branded a terrorist act and must carry the death penalty. Let’s look inwards and get it right,” Ningi declared.

Another lawmaker, Sadiq Umar (Kwara North), warned that Nigeria was facing what he described as an “existential threat,” urging immediate and sweeping action.

“We are having an existential threat. This is a narrative that has to move beyond this chamber. It is time for us to declare that we are at war,” he said.

Senate Leader Bamidele echoed these concerns, stressing that insecurity had grown into a national emergency that both the executive and legislature must confront head-on.

“Both the executive and the legislature inherited this problem; but that should not be an excuse. All hands must be on deck,” he said.

The Senate resolved that communities across Kwara, Kebbi, Niger, and the rest of the country must stay united, vigilant, and ready to support security agencies—while rejecting internal collaborators aiding criminal networks.

Lawmakers commended President Bola Tinubu and security operatives for what they described as “rapid interventions” in recent kidnapping incidents, urging them to sustain the momentum until all abducted persons are rescued and perpetrators brought to justice.

In a series of far-reaching directives, the Senate ordered the Federal Ministry of Works to begin emergency reconstruction of federal highways in areas plagued by banditry, arguing that improved mobility would strengthen rapid security response.

Security agencies—including the Army, Police, DSS, and Defence Intelligence Bureau—were instructed to scale up intelligence-driven operations such as aerial surveillance, forest raids, cross-state collaboration, and community-based intelligence gathering in Kwara, Kogi, Kebbi, Niger, and other high-risk zones.

The upper chamber also called for the establishment of a Joint Task Force (JTF) covering the Kwara–Kogi corridor, with forward operating bases in Eruku, Babanla, Oke-Ero, and Isanlu in Kwara State, as well as Wasagu in Kebbi State—areas that have recently come under heavy attack by armed groups.

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and NEMA were directed to provide urgent relief to families affected by abductions and the closure of schools due to insecurity.

Senators further urged the federal government to strengthen local vigilante groups and review the national firearms law, noting that more than 175 countries allow responsible citizens to legally own firearms for personal protection.

All security-related committees of the Senate were mandated to investigate reports that soldiers were withdrawn from a school in Kebbi shortly before it was attacked by bandits, as well as the circumstances surrounding the killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba. They are expected to report back within two weeks.

The Senate also resolved to pursue strengthened diplomatic ties with the United States and other global partners to support intelligence-sharing, counterterrorism training, and advanced security technology deployment.

Additionally, lawmakers called for the reconstitution of the standing committees on the Air Force and National Security and Intelligence.

Other committees—Army, Navy, Defence, Interior, and Police Affairs—were directed to submit detailed activity reports within one week.

Reaffirming its backing for President Tinubu’s efforts to tackle insecurity, the Senate urged the president to overhaul the national security architecture to better respond to insurgent and criminal threats threatening the country’s stability.