Speaker Tajudeen Abbas during the special plenary session on national security at the House of Representatives, Abuja
The House of Representatives on Tuesday held a special plenary session dedicated to addressing Nigeria’s rising security challenges, with foreign parliamentary delegations in attendance.
A team from St Kitts and Nevis, led by the Speaker of its Parliament, Lanein Blanchette, and a delegation from the United States Embassy were formally admitted into the chamber before proceedings began.
During the session, lawmakers were expected to receive a consolidated Internal Security Assessment compiled by relevant House committees.
The assessment covers recent security incidents and trends, oversight reports, implementation of previous resolutions, and data-driven presentations from committees on defence, national security, police affairs, intelligence, human rights, interior, foreign affairs, women affairs, youth development, and emergency management.
At the end of deliberations, the House is scheduled to issue a formal resolution outlining agreed actions, timelines, and oversight mechanisms for implementation.
Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, in his opening remarks, asserted that Nigeria’s sovereignty “is not negotiable,” even as he welcomed ongoing cooperation with the United States to strengthen national security.
He confirmed that the House is carefully working on the Religious Freedom Accountability Bill, noting that both Christian and Muslim communities have been victims of terrorist attacks.
Abbas also pointed to the wave of military coups in West Africa and the growing security threats across the region.
Tuesday’s session comes amid heightened insecurity nationwide, with recent mass abductions of schoolchildren and worshippers in several northern states drawing widespread concern. Schools have been shut down in parts of Kebbi and Niger following attacks by armed groups, while opposition figures have criticized the government over what they describe as inadequate protection of lives and property.
Last week, the U.S. Congress held a public hearing following former President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). Victims, lawmakers and representatives of civil society testified on escalating violence, abductions, destruction of property, and hundreds of deaths recorded in recent years.
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