- suspends plenary till next week
Members of the House of Representatives for the umpteenth time on Thursday called on the Executive Arm of Government to rise to the occasion by ending banditry, kidnappings, attacks on critical infrastructure and other forms of violence across the Federation.
They specifically asked that the recommendations of the special security summit the House held in 2021 should be implemented “as a matter of urgency.”
The lawmakers gave their views as they debated a motion on the “urgent need to address the banditry attacks and killing of people in Birnin Gwari and Jiwa Local Governments of Kaduna State.”
The motion was moved by Rep. Shehu Balarabe, who in an emotion-laden voice, disclosed how scores of communities had been sacked by bandits in the past days and several lives were lost.
Members held the position that the attacks in Kaduna State were a sign of the sad reality of the security situation of the entire country, calling on the government to deploy all workable methods within its reach to end the loss of lives.
Contributing to the debate, the House Leader, Rep. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, in a rare expression of anger, said that Government had been unimpressive lately in protecting the lives and property of Nigerians.
He noted that as representatives of the people, all must be ashamed of the current situation, especially the seeming “failure” of security agencies to arrest the trend.
Ado-Doguwa stated that of all the states in the North, Kaduna should ordinarily be considered the safest, having been the home to 15 strong security formations.
“Government must rise to the occasion; these killings must stop.
“We have a responsibility as an institution to ensure that the security situation of this country does not get worse than this”, he stated.
The leader suggested that if the situation got worse, it would not be out of place to allow Nigerians to carry arms in order to defend themselves.
Another member, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas, warned about the threats to the economy of northern Nigeria by the security challenges.
“There is a pattern to what is happening in Kaduna state. Airport attacked, rail lines attacked, roads attacked, and homes are being attacked. These attacks have to be stopped”, Abbas said.
A member from Kano state, Rep. Aminu Suleiman, told his colleagues that the buck stopped on President Muhammadu Buhari’s table, urging the President to take full responsibility by ending the daily killing of Nigerians.
Similarly, Rep. Chike Okafor from Imo state, noted that the entire country was not safe, a position supported by Rep. Ahmed Jaha, a member from Borno state.
On his part, Rep. Nasir Ali Ahmad from Kano state, called for the resignation of the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.), for his “inability” to coordinate the heads of the security agencies to deliver on their mandate of securing the nation.
“What is the NSA still doing there? What is his job? I call for his resignation”, he added.
Ahmad observed that Monguno was the only security chief out of the number appointed in 2015 still working with Buhari, adding that the worsening security challenges were an indication of the failure of his coordination.
The House resolved that the government should deploy all workable methods at its disposal to contain the security challenges, and especially to implement the recommendations of its special summit on national security, which the Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, submitted to Buhari last year.
Amid the emotional atmosphere in the chamber, the presiding Deputy Speaker, Rep. Ahmed Idris Wase, directed the suspension of the rest of the proceedings for the day and adjourned plenary till Tuesday, next week in solidarity with the victims of the attacks in Birnin Gwari, Jiwa and all federal constituencies in the country.
The House also said special prayers for Nigeria, seeking God’s face to end the killings in the country.
