Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday reacted to the latest wave of violent attacks across the country, stated that no nation in the world is completely free of crime.
Akpabio made the remarks while presiding over plenary during a heated debate on the killing of Brigadier-General Uba Musa in Borno State and the abduction of 25 schoolgirls alongside the killing of a vice principal in Kebbi State. Both incidents occurred within 24 hours.
As senators expressed concern over the rising insecurity, Akpabio cautioned against despair, drawing attention to the scale of the country and the growing pressure on security agencies.
“We sympathise deeply with the families affected, but we must remember that Nigeria is a very large country,” he said.
“It is not even possible to deploy one policeman to each polling unit during elections. Our security agencies are overstretched and find themselves in places they shouldn’t ordinarily be.”
The Senate President added that crime is not unique to Nigeria.
“There is no society without crime. Even the almighty America records crime daily. But we must continue to do our best to minimise it.”
Nigeria has witnessed an uptick in violent attacks in recent months, with insurgents, bandits and other armed groups carrying out deadly raids across several states. The situation has triggered renewed calls for urgent government action to prevent further deterioration.
Akpabio’s remarks have reignited public debate on the overstretching of security forces, particularly amid concerns about the large number of security personnel assigned to VIPs and government officials instead of frontline operations.
