Legislative Support to Counter Terrorism and Insurgency

The Senate considers the twin challenges of terrorism and insurgency as a major setback to Nigeria’s national development. Accordingly, the Senate will take the following legislative actions:

1. Review existing legislation on anti-terrorism to ensure the apprehension of suspects and prosecutions. The Senate’s action will seek to support Nigeria’s security agencies to respect international humanitarian laws, with every effort made to apprehend suspects and put them through a system of justice that includes prosecution in the courts. Accordingly, the military’s operational systems will be required to bring suspects to justice, rather than a system that encourages extra-judicial killings. The lessons to be learnt from apprehending suspects and putting them through a system of judicial trial, offers deterrence benefits which the military will need to integrate into its operational systems.
2. Domesticate international conventions, particularly the ECOWAS Convention of Small Arms and Light Weapons, Ammunition to regulate the possession, use and trade of small arms and light weapons, given their proliferation in Nigeria.
3. Create a legal framework for bringing convicts into rehabilitation and reform.
4. Support the establishment and/or improvement of border control and surveillance systems and promote co-operation with neighbouring countries to halt cross-border terrorism and militancy.
5. Support the Executive to establish a system of support and compensation for victims of insecurity in Nigeria, in order to help communities recover and rebuild.
6. Support the Executive to create a National Social and Economic Recovery programme for communities devastated by insurgency and militancy. This will be by enactment of laws and the use of oversight powers to promote employment, local investments and skills-training.