- Fear Citizens May Revolt
- Question 19.7trn naira Spent On Security
By Kolawole Ojebisi
The House of Representatives on Tuesday was turned to a madhouse following the uproar that erupted in the legislative chamber as deliberative session veered off to debate on the vexed issue of insecurity.
Emotions started to rise when lawmakers from states, particularly in the Northern region, which have become hotspots of insecurity expressed concern over the Nigeria’s deteriorating security situation.
The legislative deliberation had been going smoothly until Hon. Ahmed Satomi representing the Jere Constituency of Borno State moved a motion of urgent public importance.
Satomi’s subject was the recent fire incident at the armory at Giwa Barracks and the reported attacks on military formations in Borno and Yobe state.
No sooner had he raised the matter than the legislative chamber degenerated into commotion as lawmakers started taking turns to express their opinions on insecurity and other national issues warning that citizens may take on them.
Afterwards, the motion quickly snowballed into emotional testimonies with lawmakers ending their contributions with dire warnings, fearing Nigerians may turn on their elected representatives.
Hon. Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau) issued a searing rebuke to those downplaying the severity of the crisis. “When the governor is crying, and someone within the comfort of his own says the governor is raising an unnecessary alarm, we are rascals. Nigerians are being killed. This is unacceptable,” Gagdi fumed.
He added, “Until the right thing is done by us here… until the government responds with action, not just media statements, don’t bet that any member of the National Assembly is safe—not by Boko Haram, but by the people that elected you and I. Time will come, if action is not taken, that Nigerians will take their destinies in their own hands.
“Mr. Speaker, we must stand up and find a way of bringing this issue of insecurity together. Otherwise, you and I is the same. No matter how Nigerians respect us, we are moving to a level that Nigerians will fight us the way they fight criminals and the way they fight Boko Haram.
Hon. Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno), whose constituency includes Chibok, gave a chilling update: “Ten peasant farmers were slaughtered in Pulka, 14 in Chibok, and military officers in Izge and Kampu. In Wajiboko, Boko Haram used weaponized drones. The Nigerian Army is outgunned and undermanned. I have seen it. Nobody told me. I was there.”
Jaha warned the House not to be complacent: “Between 2015 to 2019, the government spent N19.7 trillion on security. Yet Boko Haram is resurging worse than ever. We must do proper oversight.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am taking as a victim of the recent resurgence of an insurgence of Boko Haram. I went to my constituency on Saturday to sympathize, to condone with the people that lost their lives as a result of this sporadic, uninterrupted attack.
“In my constituency, in Pulka constituency, ten peasant farmers went out to scavenge for what we call sawroot. Peasant farmers were slaughtered by Boko Haram members and five are still at large and three are critically ill in the hospital. In Chibok, 14 peasant farmers were attacked in their community…
“Boko Haram is coming back worse than what we had in the past. Take it or leave it..Boko Haram is whatever name you tell them, they are coming back. Let us do something serious in order not to come back, go back to our days when 22 local governments out of 27 local governments of the world were occupied by Boko Haram.
“We shouldn’t be complacent with this. I align with the Honourable Deputy by saying that we should do our own part. By doing the proper oversight, as many expected, because between 2015 to 2019, Nigeria government spent 19.7 trillion on security issues. I have the record with me. So we shouldn’t be complacent.
Hon. Zainab Gimba (APC, Borno) corroborated the use of drones and foreign fighters in recent attacks. “In my constituency, 20 soldiers were killed in a Boko Haram ambush on a multinational force base. The commander told me that among the insurgents were several white men—there is foreign influence here,” she said.
She condemned the positioning of military formations within cities, citing the Giwa Barracks fire in Maiduguri. “Before the public knew what was happening, panic had already spread. These formations should be outside city centres. Our lives should not be politicised.”
“Mr. Speaker, another issue of concern for this house is that with the exit of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali fromh ECOWAS, it has also posed a lot of threat, especially at the borders of Malibu and other borders bordering Nigeria. Because if there is no synergy, this insurgency will pose several threats to the country, not only to the state.
“We are giving the impression that the fire outbreak came as a result of either a fire source or whatever within the barracks. Because on that particular day, there hadn’t been any Boko Haram attack in Laduguri.
“In my own constancy, Mr. Speaker, in Mungo, there has been a Boko Haram attack on military formation of the multinational joint task force, where more than 20 soldiers were killed.
“Mr. Speaker, it will interest you to know that I visited that formation and the commander told me that out of about nearly 100 soldiers in that formation, we have only 6 Nigerian soldiers. And it is a multinational joint task force where we expect to have, if not equal number,h at least substantive number of Nigerian military men in that formation. And again, Mr. Speaker, the commanding officer of that formation revealed and confessed that it wasn’t the first or the second time that formation has been attacked, but on that very day, that was on the 24th of March, 2025, that attack was unprecedented.
In his own contribution to the motion, Hon. Shettima Ali (APC, Yobe) called for legislative reform to allow citizens defend themselves. “Let this House create a law that permits our people to protect themselves. The security forces are not enough and don’t know the terrain.”
He said, “Our people are being killed day by day. I want this House to come up with another idea to deal with our people. We have to think about how to create a law that will allow our people to protect themselves, we just need this thing.
“Because, like what Jaha has said, our security personnel are inadequate; they don’t know the terrain of our communities. They are trying their best, but the people are inadequate, and they don’t know the terrain of our communities.”
Tempering the prevailing commotion with sobriety Hon. Babajimi Benson also of the APC, spoke calmly about how there is nothing to show for the enormous financial commitment to insecurity by the Federal Government.
“The presidency has spent so much on the military without commensurate outcomes. We need drastic measures.
After heated debate, the House, however, made the following resolutions:
–Investigate the cause of the fire incident at Giwa Barracks armory and report back to the house.
–Conduct a thorough review of security measures in military installations.
— Ask the FG to strengthen security operations in Borno and Yobe states.
–To provide support and compensation to families of soldiers affected by these incidents.
The Green Chamber, therefore, mandated the committee on the army, defence and National security, to investigate and report back within four weeks
