Boko Haram suspects slipped into Army, Police recruitment — Ahmed Idris Wase sounds Alarm
The former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Idris Wase, caused a stir on Wednesday when he revealed that individuals suspected to have links with Boko Haram once appeared on official recruitment lists for the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Police Force. Wase made the disclosure during a session of the House, speaking with the firmness of someone determined to push a long-standing concern back into national view. He told the chamber, as reported by Punch Newspapers, that “some had links to Boko Haram,” noting that the security implication of such infiltration was far- reaching and troubling. He explained that the information emerged during his time in the House and insisted the development was verified by a former chairman of the Committee on Defence, although he stopped short of naming the lawmaker. There was stillness in the chamber as he spoke, the weight of his words lingering in the air like a note written in the margin of a classified file. He warned that the nation must take recruitment screening far more seriously, saying the country could not afford a security architecture where even entry points were compromised. Wase’s comments came while lawmakers debated broader concerns over insecurity in parts of the country. His revelation appeared to underline the sense that challenges confronting the security forces may be closer to the roots of the system than previously acknowledged. He stressed that the discovery was not merely an administrative lapse but a matter that directly touched on the safety of citizens, insisting that recruitment processes must be shielded from political or criminal interference. The former deputy speaker urged security agencies to strengthen vetting procedures and appealed to political figures who write recommendations for recruitment to be mindful of the weight such endorsements carry. His remarks added an unexpected jolt to the session, leaving lawmakers to reckon with the uncomfortable possibility that the nation’s security establishment may have been infiltrated long before the consequences became visible on the streets. The House is expected to deliberate further on the matter as attention turns to the integrity of Nigeria’s security recruitment systems, a subject that now carries renewed urgency
| 2025-11-26 19:06:13