By Eteteonline
The Niger State House of Assembly has vowed to halt all legislative proceedings if the state’s growing insecurity is not immediately addressed. Lawmakers called on the federal government to send troops along important bandit routes to combat bandits and other criminal elements. After Hon. Mohammed Nura Agwara, representing Agwara Constituency, moved a resolution of urgent public significance, the warning was given at a plenary session.
The state’s kidnappings were unanimously denounced by House members, who called the situation sad and regrettable. Speaker Abdulmalik Sarkindaji issued a warning that until the state’s safety is restored, parliamentary activity will be suspended. He stated that communities are being abandoned, contractors are pulling out of road projects, and investors are retreating. Farmers are now pleading for protection after harvesting hundreds of bags of crops. The state is under siege, and something has to be done right now.
The Speaker emphasized that if preventive steps are not taken, the kidnapped pupils may be relocated to nearby Zamfara and urged the federal government to send troops to key places that have been identified as bandits’ routes.
The House passed a four-point resolution that calls for rapid action to free the kidnapped students, the deployment of troops to key areas and known bandit routes throughout the state, communication with members of the Niger State National Assembly to convey the House’s stance, and the suspension of legislative business if no significant action is taken within two weeks.
315 pupils from St. Mary’s Catholic Missionary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, were kidnapped by gunmen on November 21, 2025. Days after the kidnapping, gunmen kidnapped at least 24 farmers from a rice farm in the state’s Shiroro LGA.
Banditry operations in Niger State have resulted in violent attacks, mayhem, anarchy, and instability. Following a terrorist attack, the state administration has mandated that all schools be immediately closed.
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