Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, on Wednesday made a shocking revelation, stating that Boko Haram members, armed robbers and other criminal elements were once discovered on recruitment lists for the Nigerian Army and Police.
Wase, who spoke during a special plenary session dedicated to addressing the worsening security crisis, said the infiltration of Nigeria’s security institutions by individuals with criminal backgrounds posed a grave threat to national stability.
According to him, the scandal was not hearsay but verifiable, insisting that the former Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, now Chairman of the Committee on the Federal Capital Territory, Hon. Muktar Betara, could confirm the development.
“There were recruitment exercises where names of known Boko Haram members appeared on the shortlist. Armed robbers and other criminals were also found among those cleared for the Army and Police,” Wase said, warning public officials against indiscriminate endorsements that help unfit candidates slip into the security services.
The Plateau lawmaker, who recounted losing a brother, cousin, and nephew to terrorist attacks, said the North Central alone bears “about 52 per cent” of Nigeria’s insecurity burden.
He described a distressing message from his younger brother, who begged to be relocated from their violence-ravaged community.
Wase urged President Bola Tinubu to reconsider his directive to withdraw police protection from Very Important Persons (VIPs), warning that the move could fuel the country’s escalating kidnapping crisis.
Wase said the order “if we’re not careful, will lead to more kidnappings.”
He cited a video showing bandits openly boasting that they intended to target the President and other politicians.
Wase compared Nigeria’s security infrastructure with other countries, noting that Egypt, with a population far smaller than Nigeria’s, employs more than five million police officers, while many Nigerian communities lack even basic police presence.
He said, “In a very small country called Egypt, where the number is not up to 100 million, you have recruitment of police officers more than a million, yes, 5 million, sorry, 5 million. Here in Nigeria, you go to communities, you would traverse more than 30, 20 kilometres, you cannot get even a police station to report an issue.
“This one has to be done immediately, if we mean to solve this problem, and I was thinking about this, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the effort, Mr. President, I appreciate his concern.
“This is one other situation that people are saying, withdraw VIPs, it’s not about the VIPs. When you give criminals police to guard them, this is where I thought we should have reason. They withdraw that order that has been given,” he said.
“I think, if we are not careful, there will be more now, because I saw, I watched a film, of a video of one of the kidnappers, or bandits, boasting that they are going to get the head of the, Mr. President, they are going after politicians, and these people are all unrepentant.”
