By Stephen — Dalena Reporters
November 26, 2025
In a searing indictment of Nigeria’s security apparatus, Garba Maidoki, Senator representing Kebbi South, told the plenary of the Senate on Wednesday that authorities already know the identities, hideouts, and objectives of the terrorist behind recent mass-kidnappings — yet continue to dither, negotiate, or withdraw troops while communities burn.
The senator was speaking in reaction to the release of 24 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga in Kebbi State. Though relieved at the students’ safe return, Maidoki said he was “happy and sad at the same time,” describing the moment as bittersweet. He expressed gratitude for the girls’ release — while lambasting the failure to prevent their abduction in the first place.
On the Senate floor, Maidoki declared: “We know who these bandits are. We know where they are. We know what they want.” He demanded clarity and accountability: if the government is to negotiate, it should “do it and finish it”; if it is to fight, “then fight it to the finish.” He asked: “What is the big deal? We know everything — what are we covering?”
The senator challenged the security establishment’s logic, questioning why, with firm intelligence, the attacks persist — raising suspicions of either gross incompetence or hidden collusion. The video clip of his speech, widely shared online, has reignited public debate over whether the state’s current strategy — a mix of kidnapping releases through negotiation and sparse kinetic operations — amounts to appeasement rather than genuine counter-terrorism.
The outburst by Maidoki adds fire to growing calls from the Senate and civil society for sweeping reforms. On the same day, the legislative chamber adopted a resolution declaring kidnapping and banditry as terrorism — approving the death penalty for offenders and ordering a full probe into troop withdrawals from affected schools just before attacks.
As Nigeria grapples with yet another wave of school abductions and rural raids, Maidoki’s words echo a mounting frustration across the North West and beyond: a perception that the state knows the threat — but lacks the will or coherence to confront it decisively.
Dalena Reporters will continue to monitor reactions from federal security agencies, follow-up investigations, and any shift in strategy as the government grapples with this escalating security crisis.