The Senate has urged the Federal Government, through the Service Chiefs and the Office of the National Security Adviser, to intensify efforts toward the safe rescue and release of women and children abducted from Woro Community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The upper chamber also called on the Federal Government to comprehensively clear and redesign the Kainji Forest Reserve to flush out criminal elements operating within the area. It further urged the strategic establishment of security formations where necessary to prevent future attacks.

The resolutions followed a motion of urgent national importance raised by Senator Sadiq Suleiman Umar (Kwara North), who informed the Senate that communities located in remote and forest-bordering areas remain highly vulnerable to attacks and require enhanced protection to prevent further loss of lives.

Contributing to the debate, other senators described the incident as tragic, noting that insecurity, armed banditry, kidnapping and abductions have become recurring challenges across the country. They called for urgent and decisive action to address the worsening security situation.

Among those who spoke were Senators Abba Moro, Adamu Aliero, Ahmed Lawan and Abdul Ningi, who stressed the need for improved intelligence gathering, security coordination and sustained military presence in affected regions.

In his remarks, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau, urged both the Federal and Kwara State governments to provide comprehensive support, adequate resources and well-structured intervention programmes for displaced families and residents of Woro Community and other affected areas.

The Senate also called on the Federal Government to fully fund and expedite the completion of the already awarded Wawa–Kaiama and Kaiama–Kishi road projects. Lawmakers noted that the poor state of the roads has made access to the communities difficult and has further worsened security challenges in the region.

Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, is facing growing criticism following remarks made during her official visit to the United States, where she described U.S. military intervention in Nigeria as a “blessing” and dismissed claims that Christians are being targeted for genocide in the country’s troubled northern region.

Speaking during media engagements and high-level meetings in Washington, D.C., Tinubu pushed back strongly against narratives circulating in parts of the U.S. and international advocacy space that Nigeria is witnessing systematic religious extermination. She characterised such claims as exaggerated and politically motivated, insisting that Nigeria’s security crisis is complex and not driven by religion.

Her comments, however, have landed at a particularly sensitive moment.

Within days of her statements, reports emerged from parts of Plateau, Benue, and Southern Kaduna of fresh attacks on rural communities, with dozens killed. While casualty figures vary depending on sources and remain difficult to independently verify in real time, local leaders, church groups, and humanitarian organisations have confirmed renewed violence affecting farming communities already displaced by years of conflict.

Tinubu’s remarks echo the long-held position of the Nigerian government: that violence in the North and Middle Belt is rooted primarily in banditry, terrorism, land disputes and criminality, not religious cleansing.

Government officials have repeatedly warned that framing the conflict as a Christian-Muslim war risks inflaming tensions and inviting foreign misinterpretation.

But critics argue that the First Lady’s Washington messaging focused heavily on military solutions while downplaying civilian suffering and the failure of governance in affected regions.

Judd Saul, Executive Director of the U.S.-based advocacy group Equipping the Persecuted, accused Nigerian authorities of misrepresenting realities on the ground. In a widely circulated statement, Saul claimed that while Nigerian officials were assuring U.S. audiences that no genocide exists, hundreds of Christians had been killed in recent attacks allegedly carried out by armed Fulani militias.

The Nigerian government has consistently rejected such ethnic or religious characterisations, stating that criminal groups operating in the region are not representative of any ethnic group and that security forces are actively responding.

Another source of controversy is the perception that Tinubu’s U.S. visit prioritised security cooperation, particularly airstrikes and intelligence sharing over discussions on development aid, education, healthcare, or humanitarian relief for conflict-affected communities.

During her engagements, Tinubu welcomed stronger U.S. security collaboration, describing it as vital to Nigeria’s fight against terrorism and insurgency. Yet critics say the emphasis on “bombs over bread” reflects a deeper failure to address the socio-economic drivers of violence: poverty, youth unemployment, climate pressure, and weak local governance.

Analysts note that military action alone has not ended Nigeria’s insecurity after more than a decade of counter-insurgency operations.

Photos and reports of the First Lady attending high-profile meetings and official dinners in Washington have further fuelled public anger back home, particularly on social media, where Nigerians questioned the optics of diplomatic reassurance abroad amid bloodshed at home.

For many affected communities, the issue is not whether the word “genocide” is technically accurate but whether their deaths are being minimised in global conversations.

As Nigeria seeks continued international support, the controversy highlights a growing disconnect between official diplomacy and local pain, raising uncomfortable questions about whose stories are told, whose are denied, and what solutions truly lie ahead.

Suspected bandits have abducted nine worshippers during a night vigil at St. John’s Catholic Church in Ojije, Utonkon, Ado Local Government Area of Benue State.

The incident was confirmed on Monday by the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Edet Udeme, who said the attack occurred while worshippers were observing a night vigil at the church.

According to Udeme, the assailants stormed the church under the cover of darkness and whisked away nine members of the congregation to an unknown location.

The police spokesperson disclosed that following the incident, the Benue State Police Command has deployed all its tactical teams across the state to the affected area to track the perpetrators and ensure the safe rescue of the abducted worshippers.

He assured residents that the police, in collaboration with other security agencies, are intensifying efforts to secure the release of the victims and restore calm to the community.

The abduction adds to growing concerns over insecurity in parts of Benue State, particularly attacks on rural communities and places of worship.

Police authorities urged members of the public to remain vigilant and to provide credible information that could aid ongoing rescue operations and the arrest of the suspects.