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.
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 Giwa Local Governments of Kaduna State.”
The motion was moved by Hon. 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, Hon. 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, they 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, being 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, Hon. 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”, he said.
A member from Kano state, Hon. Aminu Suleiman, told his colleagues that President Muhammadu Buhari is capable of thwarting the disheartening situation and should take full responsibility by ending the daily killing of Nigerians.
Further more, Hon. Nasir Ali Ahmad from Kano state, called for the resignation of the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.), for his “inability” to coordinate the heads of the security agencies to deliver on their mandate of securing the nation.
He also noted that Monguno, being the oldest security chief since 2015 and still working in President Buhari’s administration, he has made no impact as the worsening security situation is an indication of lapses in his coordination.
“What is the NSA still doing there? What is his job? I call for his resignation”, he reiterated.
The House resolved that the government, as a matter of urgency, should deploy all workable methods at its disposal to resolve the security challenges, and implement the recommendations of its special summit on national security, which the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, submitted to Buhari last year.
