Senator Garba Musa Maidoki, representing Kebbi South Senatorial District, has raised an emotional appeal on the Senate floor over the worsening insecurity in his constituency, calling on the Federal Government to make the protection of lives its foremost priority.
Speaking during plenary on Wednesday, Maidoki said the spate of bandit attacks in Kebbi South has left residents in fear and despair, forcing many to abandon their homes and farmlands.
The lawmaker, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside two other senators from Kebbi State on May 13, 2025, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for its ongoing security initiatives but urged for stronger action to rescue communities under siege.
“Please keep your roads, keep your schools. We just want to be safe,” Maidoki said during plenary.
“That is the message we are sending to the Senate President. Please save our lives and our people. We are not bothered about roads or schools now — just save our lives.”
He decried the slow response of security agencies, noting that while the military often claims to be active in the affected areas, residents rarely feel their presence.
“Today they (armed forces) will tell us they are here, tomorrow they are there; everybody knows where these bandits are, but no visible action takes place,” he lamented.
Maidoki urged the Senate leadership to demand weekly progress reports from the military on security operations across the states to ensure transparency and accountability.
“We need this Senate to tell the armed forces to be reporting progress every week, state by state. Otherwise, it will be a mess, and we will not be seeing progress,” he said.
The senator’s appeal reflects the deepening frustration of communities in Kebbi South, one of the regions hardest hit by banditry in northwestern Nigeria, where mass killings and abductions have crippled farming and local trade.
