The Senate has urged military and other security agencies to conduct urgent special operations to dislodge terrorists and bandits in North West Nigeria.
It also resolved to summon all the defence and security chiefs over the rising abduction of university students in different parts of the country.
These followed a motion by Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua (Katsina Central) during plenary, who drew the attention of his colleagues to the kidnapping of five female students of the Federal University Dutsinma (FUDMA), Katsina in the early hours of Wednesday.
The attack happened 12 days after bandits, in large numbers, forced their way into three hostels of the Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, and abducted 24 students. Sixteen of them were successfully freed three days later during the rescue conducted by security agencies.
On August 21, eight corps members were also kidnapped by bandits on their way to camp in Zamfara State.
Senator Yar’Adua said these kidnap incidents had thrown the university and academic communities into a panic mood.
The lawmaker expressed concern that the frequency of kidnapping for ransom has become almost a daily and weekly occurrence in major towns and communities in the North West geopolitical zone.
The Senate resolved to fix a date to invite the security chiefs to address the lawmakers on the abduction of students and efforts to curb the menace.
It directed the police to ensure that the school protection squad demonstrates a clear commitment to protecting schools and providing a safe environment for students and teachers.
It also urged the various security agencies in Nigeria to be more proactive and ensure these kidnapped students were all released without delay.