*Senate asks FG to discontinue rehabilitation programme for repented terrorists
*Insists that identified members of any terror group must be arrested, prosecuted
*Urges security agencies to strengthen intelligence gathering, sharing
*Calls for deeper collaboration with local communities, traditional rulers, religious leaders
By Gbenga Salami
Amid controversy that had trailed federal government’s rehabilitation of repented members of the Boko Haram sect, and other terror groups under its Operation Safe Haven, the Senate yesterday asked the government to henceforth discontinue such programme.
The Senators insisted that any identified member of the Boko Haram sect or any terror group for that matter must be arrested and prosecuted according to the law of the land.
The decision of the Red Chamber followed the adoption of an additional prayer on Tuesday during deliberations on the country’s security situation.
The prayer, proposed by Joseph Ikpea, Senator representing Edo Central, was adopted through a voice vote during consideration of a motion on the escalating attacks, abductions and killings of serving and retired military personnel.
The Senate also urged security and intelligence agencies to strengthen intelligence gathering, intelligence sharing, surveillance operations, threat assessment mechanisms and early warning systems.
Furthermore, it called for deeper collaboration with local communities, traditional institutions and religious leaders to improve community-based intelligence and trust-driven security partnerships.
The upper legislative chamber also urged the federal government to accelerate the deployment of modern security technologies, including unmanned aerial systems, geospatial intelligence capabilities, integrated command and control platforms and advanced communications systems to combat terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.
It also mandated the Senate leadership to constitute a delegation to visit the family of the late Abubakar, the Katsina state government and the Nigerian Army to convey the condolences of the Senate.
Supporting the proposal, Adams Oshiomhole, Senator representing Edo North, said: “It does not make even common sense to grant pardon and rehabilitate criminals.”
The motion, sponsored by Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, Senator representing Katsina Central and Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Nigerian Army, was prompted by the abduction and death of Rabe Abubakar, a retired major general and former director of defence information.
It would be recalled that Abubakar died in captivity after he was kidnapped alongside his wife in Katsina state.
Leading the debate during Tuesday’s plenary; Yar’Adua described the country’s security situation as a “national emergency”.
He said insecurity had assumed “increasingly complex, persistent and alarming dimensions”, manifesting through terrorism, insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, violent attacks on communities and the destruction of livelihoods across several parts of the country.
“The death of the retired Major General and others in the custody of terrorists represents not only personal tragedies but also a painful national loss and a stark reminder of the scale and persistence of insecurity confronting the nation,” he said.
Yar’Adua said terrorists had become increasingly sophisticated and emboldened, extending their attacks beyond civilian communities to serving and retired military officers.
“The increasing frequency with which serving and retired military personnel are being targeted by criminal and terrorist groups represents a dangerous evolution in the nation’s security challenges,” he said.
