Senate orders crackdown on bandits flaunting crime cash on TikTok

 Abuja, FCT – By Prime Brief Media

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has threatened a nationwide school shutdown over worsening insecurity, lamenting that banditry, kidnappings and killings have persisted despite the federal government’s Safe School Initiative, which was launched in 2022 with international support. In a statement released on the morning of 29 May, 2026, NUT President Titus Amba (according to the union’s official communiqué) accused security agencies of failing to protect learners and educators, particularly in the North‑Central and North‑West regions, where schools have repeatedly been targeted for mass abductions.

“Our members are living in fear. We cannot continue to risk the lives of teachers and children while armed groups move freely,” Amba was quoted as saying by Vanguard on 29 May. The union gave the federal government a 14‑day ultimatum to demonstrate tangible improvements in school security, failing which a indefinite shutdown would commence.

Separately, security consultant Dr. Ekhomu (full name withheld at source’s request) faulted Nigeria’s current anti‑insecurity framework in a statement published on 29 May. “Kidnappings for ransom continue on highways and within communities. Rural banditry has displaced thousands, and terrorist threats remain active in several regions,” she said. She further argued that the Safe School Initiative had become a “mere slogan” without adequate funding or operational coordination between the military, police, and state governments.

In a positive but localised development, the Bauchi State Police Command launched a Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) on 28 May, according to Channels Television. The unit, comprising 150 specially trained officers, is designed to combat armed robbery, kidnapping, banditry, and other threats to public safety across the state’s 20 local government areas. Commissioner of Police Auwal Musa Muhammed stated that the VCRU would operate on intelligence‑led patrols and rapid response to distress calls.

Meanwhile, police authorities confirmed the arrest of a former special adviser to the Katsina State governor for allegedly masterminding the kidnapping of an eight‑year‑old child on 13 May, 2026. The suspect, whose name has been withheld pending trial, was apprehended on 27 May following a tip‑off, a police source told Premium Times. The child was rescued unharmed.

Prime Brief Media continues to monitor the NUT’s next steps, including potential negotiations with the Ministry of Education, and will report on any federal government response.

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