The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has issued a stern directive to Nigeria’s security and intelligence agencies, demanding the immediate unmasking and prosecution of the financial backers behind terrorism and banditry in the country.
​Akpabio emphasized that tackling the frontline insurgents without neutralizing their high-profile sponsors is akin to cutting the branches of a tree while leaving the roots intact.
​Speaking during a high-level security briefing in Abuja, Akpabio stressed that Nigeria’s protracted battle with insecurity cannot be won until the individuals funding these criminal syndicates are brought to light.
​”We cannot continue to fight the symptoms while ignoring the disease,” Akpabio stated. “The foot soldiers we see in the forests do not have the financial capacity to procure sophisticated weaponry. There are individuals financing this economic and human destruction, and they must be exposed.”
​The Senate President noted that the National Assembly is fully prepared to provide the necessary legislative backing to ensure that anyone found complicit, regardless of their status or political alignment, faces the full wrath of the law.
​Akpabio also called for a departure from inter-agency rivalry, urging the military, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force, and financial intelligence units to collaborate seamlessly.
​Key demands made by the Senate Leadership includes tracking the money, zero tolerance for compromise persons within the government and swift prosecution, to ensure that arrested sponsors are not shielded, but are instead subjected to transparent and speedy trials to serve as a deterrent.
​Reassuring Nigerians of the Parliament’s commitment to restoring absolute peace, Akpabio affirmed that the 10th National Assembly will prioritize budgetary allocations aimed at upgrading Nigeria’s technological surveillance capabilities.
​”The safety of Nigerian citizens is non-negotiable,” Akpabio concluded. “We are telling the security agencies today: find the sponsors, expose them, and let Nigerians see those who are profit-making from the blood of innocent citizens.”
