The Senate on Tuesday urged the Federal government to take proactive measures to arrest the pervasive insecurity in Nigeria leading to malicious killings ravaging states of the federation.
It also tasked the relevant security agencies to intensify the mop-up of small arms and light weapons in circulation across the states of Nigeria as part of measures to curtail the level of insecurity in the land
The resolution of Tuesday followed the motion by Senator Abba Moro on the “urgent need for the Senate’s intervention on the militia attack in Okokolo in Agatu Local Government Area Benue state.
Moro’s motion was co-sponsored by Gabriel Suswan, (Benue North) Orker-jev Emmanuel (Benue North-west) Sen. Balogun Kola-Ademola (Oyo South) and Sen. Uche Ekwenife (Anambra Central).
The motion was seconded by Senator Theodore Orji’s who sought to know whether the bandits originate from the area.
The former minister of interior said the Armed bandits attacked a church in Okokolo town on the 30th of June and resulted in the death of over 25 worshipers and created fears and anxiety leading them to desert their homes.
He blamed the killings on the proliferation of small arms that have become readily available to armed bandits and called on the Senate to forestall further killings.
In debating the motion at plenary, Senator Suswan called for the convocation of the security summit as advocated by the Senate last week Senate and said that the National Emergency Management Agency should provide a palliative for victims of the attack.
In his contribution senator Emmanuel Oker- Jev supported the call by Suswam for palliative but noted that the people of Agatu must be protected.
Lamenting the situation, Uche Ekwunife said insecurity is presently knocking on the doors of Nigerians thus requiring urgent innovative steps to arrest it and bring the situation under control.
She condemned what she called the sectional views of the security challenge instead confronting it headlong adding that it also compounded the problem.
“Everywhere in this country isn’t safe. Security is getting out of hand and we have succeeded in sectionalize it and it has denied us the objectivity to addressing it.
The time has come when the leadership of this country must address us on security issues.
Senator Rochas Okorocha also lamented the spate of killings in the country following the inability of the government to tackle the security situation.
His words: “There is too much bloodletting in this country.” He argued further that there is an urgent need to address the security challenges than the attention given to the Ministers list.
“The issue of insecurity is far more important the issue of screening the ministers, we can ask the ministers to bow and go and immediately convene a meeting on insecurity.”
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Those causing this insecurity in the nation may not be more than 5000 people.
He said at most they maybe 50,000 people and wondered how the nation cannot get rid of these societal bad eggs for making life difficult for Nigerians.
For Senator Rose Okoh, the defeatist approach to the situation is uncalled. Instead, the Senate should set agenda with the proposed security summit and put a final stop to the issue that undermined the safety of Nigerians.
“We have become a weeping chamber, I a happy that we are holding another security summit, are we going to Make it another talk shop or set agenda.
“We have invited security chiefs and here and talked about small arms proliferation. The security agency have told us that there has been no cohesion in their share of intelligence and cooperation, she recalled.
Okoh said the Senate must interrogate the level of cooperation between security agencies since their Last appearance before the eighth Senate.
“We are yet to hear from them. We need to have an engagement some kind of enquiries from the security agencies, Okoh stated.
Senator Emmanuel Bwacha called for closer interest on the personnel at the borders whom may be compromising the security of the nation by allowing these bandits into the country.
According to him, “If we do not fight this insecurity, it will bring Nigeria to its knees. If we are leaning on a primordial sentiment this problem will live with us,” he stressed
Rounding up the debate on the motion, the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan said “I could see during the interventions and debate, we have been talking but we have not been able to do anything.
“I think the parliament is supposed to that really. The parliament is supposed to discuss issues that border on nations interests.
“The parliament also needs to work very closely with the executive arm of government for implementation. This emphasizes the need for follow-ups on our resolutions if we want things to happen immediately, maybe we have to pass laws.
“So we also need to look at those laws, these are laws that borders on improvement of the security of the country and of course, the appropriation is one law that we can do quite a lot with but I so believe that it is beyond money only, the nature, the structure, the architecture of security agencies today tell us, there is a need for review of the way they operate.
“I think we should never be tired of discussing these issues until we get the solutions. Where else can this discussions be if not in the chambers of the national assembly,” Lawan submitted.
and then