Oshiomhole’s question and Akpabio’s silence, by Emmanuel Aziken

In a week when ordinary Nigerians took to the streets in one of the most energetic public expressions of anger against the security failures of the Bola Tinubu administration, the National Assembly sadly brought its vanity to full manifestation.

Across Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan and even Maiduguri in Borno State, Nigerians poured out their frustration over the worsening menace of insecurity.

So, when lawmakers resumed from their break, it was not surprising that insecurity again returned to the front burner. The matter could not be avoided. The country was bleeding. Parents were in anguish. Communities were grieving. Citizens were demanding answers. Yet, what unfolded in both chambers of the National Assembly showed once again the disturbing gap between the pain of the people and the priorities of those elected to represent them.

In the Senate, as members deliberated on the security nightmare, Senator Adams Oshiomhole drew attention to a previous resolution of the chamber following the November 17, 2025 attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State.

That attack led to the abduction of 25 female students and the killing of the school’s Vice Principal, Malam Hassan Makuku. After the incident, Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, alleged that soldiers deployed to the school were withdrawn about 45 minutes before the bandits struck. It was widely reported at the time that someone within the chain of command must have authorised the withdrawal, despite fears of a possible attack on the school.

Following the outrage, the Senate passed a resolution condemning the attack and demanded that military authorities identify the officer who gave the order for the withdrawal. It was a serious question then. It remains a serious question now.

So, last Tuesday, when the Senate again deliberated on the latest wave of insecurity across Nigeria, Oshiomhole reminded his colleagues of that unresolved question: who ordered the withdrawal of soldiers from the Kebbi school shortly before the bandits struck?

That question should have shaken the chamber. It should have opened the door to a serious interrogation of command responsibility, operational failure and possible sabotage within the security system. Instead, it exposed the weakness of a National Assembly that has, over the years, failed to properly interrogate the malfeasance often attributed to security agencies.

Many Nigerians, including this correspondent, believe that the military has not been sufficiently equipped, funded and motivated to carry out its constitutional duty of securing the nation. That reality must be acknowledged. Soldiers on the frontlines face danger daily, often with inadequate logistics, poor welfare and impossible terrain. But acknowledging those difficulties does not erase another troubling reality: there are rogue elements within the system.

There have been repeated allegations of internal sabotage, including claims of informants within the security establishment leaking intelligence to terrorists and bandits. There have also been cases where military movements, operational lapses or unexplained withdrawals have raised legitimate questions. The Kebbi school attack remains one of such cases.

Oshiomhole, to his credit, did not stop at asking who ordered the withdrawal. He also called for an audit of funds released to the military. That proposal was important. It would have either confirmed or disproved claims that less than 20 percent of the budgeted funds for ammunition was released in 2025.

But regrettably, when Oshiomhole’s proposal came up, no senator supported the motion.

Your correspondent understands that many senators backed away from supporting the motion because they feared it could be interpreted as an attempt to embarrass President Tinubu. With many of them already positioning themselves for return tickets ahead of 2027, they apparently chose political self-preservation over national accountability.

 That failure was revealing. The senators did not merely disappoint Oshiomhole. They did not merely disappoint their constituents. They disappointed the constitutional legacy they were elected to uphold. Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution states clearly that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. Yet, when the moment came to defend that principle, the Senate retreated into silence.

But the Senate was not alone in this show of infamy. The House of Representatives also staged its own theatre of shame.

At a time when the nation was grieving over missing schoolchildren and hundreds of Nigerians still languishing in the captivity of bandits across the country, members of the House were consumed by a $50,000 bribery and forgery drama over the election of a new Minority Leader.

Rep. Philip Agbese brought the matter to the floor on Thursday, claiming that his signature was forged on a letter proposing Rep. Ikenga Ugochinyere as the new Minority Leader. He strongly denied involvement in the arrangement and accused Ugochinyere of forgery.

Hours later, before Nigerians went to sleep, the Ugochinyere camp released CCTV footage allegedly showing someone who looked like Agbese inside Ugochinyere’s office signing a document. But what document was he signing? That question remains unanswered. The footage, while dramatic, did not establish the content of the document. Neither did it show Agbese collecting the alleged $50,000 said to have been offered to lawmakers who endorsed the move.

Now, the joke is on the House. Nigerians are waiting to hear Agbese’s response to the CCTV footage. Was it him? What exactly did he sign?

But beyond the personalities involved, the greater tragedy is the timing and symbolism of the scandal. At a moment when lawmakers should have been consumed by the fate of kidnapped children, displaced families, murdered citizens and helpless communities, the House was distracted by allegations of bribery, forgery and leadership manoeuvring.

That is the shame of this National Assembly. In the face of national agony, too many lawmakers appear more interested in self-preservation, factional advantage and personal benefit than in the suffering of the people.

Nigeria deserves better. The people deserve lawmakers who can ask hard questions and insist on answers. They deserve a Senate that will not run away from accountability because of fear of the President. They deserve a House that will not reduce itself to a bazaar of signatures, inducements and internal power games while the country burns.

Oshiomhole asked a question that still demands an answer. Akpabio’s Senate chose silence. History will remember both.

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