By Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja
The National Assembly on Tuesday raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, warning that continued delays in strengthening the country’s security architecture could deepen kidnappings, terrorism and violent attacks across several regions.
The concerns came as the Senate moved to strengthen funding for the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF), while the House of Representatives demanded the immediate rescue of abducted pupils and teachers in Oyo State and renewed calls for decentralised policing nationwide.
At a public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Police Affairs in Abuja, lawmakers considered a bill seeking to repeal the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (Establishment) Act, 2019 and enact a new Nigeria Police Trust Fund Act, 2026.
The proposed legislation seeks to increase the statutory allocation to the Fund from 0.5 per cent to one per cent and remove the sunset clause in the existing law to guarantee sustainable police financing.
Executive Secretary of the NPTF, Mohammed Sheidu, warned lawmakers that the country could not afford to continue underfunding policing amid rising threats from kidnappers, terrorists, cybercriminals and armed gangs.
“These are no longer optional investments; they are necessities for effective policing in the 21st century,” he said while defending proposals for increased investment in drones, forensic laboratories, digital surveillance systems, command-and-control centres and other modern policing tools.
Sheidu disclosed that the recommendations had already received the backing of the National Police Council, chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, following extensive consultations with governors, security chiefs and other stakeholders.
He argued that sustainable police funding had become critical as insecurity spreads across rural communities, highways and border corridors.
The NPTF boss also pushed for the permanent removal of the sunset clause in the law, insisting that long-term security planning could not thrive under temporary funding arrangements.
According to him, the proposed amendments would also open new funding channels through international grants, development levies, special intervention funds and private-sector contributions to strengthen police operations nationwide.
*Senate pushes stronger police funding, modern surveillance infrastructure
President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, said security remained the backbone of economic growth, investor confidence and national stability.
“This legislative initiative is not merely about repealing an existing law. It is about building a stronger institution that can more effectively support police modernisation, improve service delivery and contribute meaningfully to our national security objectives,” Akpabio stated.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Ahmed Abdulhamid Mallam-Madori, acknowledged that despite notable interventions by the Trust Fund in counter-terrorism operations, intelligence-led policing and infrastructure development, existing funding and legal gaps had continued to hamper effective implementation.
*Reps demand immediate rescue of abducted Oyo pupils, teachers alive
While the Senate deliberated on police reforms, the House of Representatives separately expressed outrage over the abduction of pupils and teachers from Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School in Oyo State.
The lawmakers charged the Federal Government and security agencies to ensure the victims were rescued alive without further delay.
“Bring our remaining sons, daughters, and teachers home alive without further delay, for every hour lost is an hour in which we risk losing them forever,” lawmakers declared during plenary.
The outrage followed the reported killing of a school teacher, Michael Oyedokun, who was allegedly beheaded while in captivity after being abducted alongside other victims from Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele in Oriire Local Government Area.
The House warned that criminal gangs were exploiting weak security presence around forest corridors and border communities, especially around the Old Oyo National Park axis.
Lawmakers consequently called for the establishment of a permanent military forward operating base in Oriire Local Government Area, in addition to the 1,000 forest guards approved earlier by President Tinubu.
According to the House, the area had increasingly become “a safe-haven for killers and a passage of terror into the South-West.”
The lawmakers also renewed calls for state police, local government policing units, and a decentralised security framework, arguing that the current centralised structure had become overstretched amid escalating violence nationwide.
“The National Assembly and the Executive Arm must, without further excuse or delay, commence full implementation of the adopted resolution on a decentralised and regional security architecture,” the lawmakers said.
“Every further postponement is paid for in the blood of innocents, and brings the nation closer to being overrun.”
The latest concerns from lawmakers come amid increasing public anxiety over persistent abductions, attacks on schools and rural communities, as well as growing nationwide protests by the Nigerian Union of Teachers and civil society organisations demanding stronger protection for schools and vulnerable communities.
