The Senate has urged the Federal Government to, as a
matter of urgency, implement the recommendations contained in the report of the
Ad-Hoc Committee on Nigeria Security Challenges to address the spate of
killings arising of the activities of bandits in the country.
The call was made on Tuesday by the upper chamber
against the backdrop of two motions considered on the need to stem banditry
attacks in Niger and Katsina States, respectively.
Sponsor of one of the motions, Senator Bello Mandiya
(APC – Katsina South), lamented what he described as “the rising wave of
coordinated armed attacks in several parts of Katsina state by murderous
bandits which have led to mass killings of persons.”
According to him, the said bandits engage in other
forms of criminal activities such as cattle rustling, kidnapping and mass
displacement of people from their ancestral lands.
The lawmaker recalled that only recently, between
Tuesday May 5th and Wednesday 6th, 2020, armed bandits carried out multiple
attacks on several communities in Faskari, Kankara, Sabuwa, Dandume, Batsari
and Jibia Locka Government Areas of the State.
The attacks, according to Mandiya, led to the shooting
of the Divisional Police Officer, Aminu Abdulkareem, and the kidnap of the Head
of Administration of Danmusa alongside his son to an unknown
location.
“The bandits used sophisticated weapons including AK-47
during the deadly operations; in fact they are so emboldened that they now
carry out their operations on a daily basis even in broad daylight,” the
lawmaker lamented.
He recalled that following the spate of insecurity in
the country, the upper chamber on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, setup an Ad-Hoc
Committee on Nigerian Security Challenges, amidst highlighting the urgent need
to restructure, review, and reorganize the current security architecture.
The Senate in its resolutions on the motion considered,
accordingly urged the Federal Government to direct the National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA) to immediately send relief materials to the victims of
banditry attacks.
It also urged the Federal Government to direct the
Nigeria Police and Nigeria Army to beef up personnel and equipment deployment
to flash points of armed banditry in katsina State.
In a related development, the Senate on Tuesday
considered a second motion on the “Urgent need for the Federal Government to
take drastic action to bring an end to banditry and kidnapping in Niger East
Senatorial District.”
Sponsor of the motion, Senator Sani Musa (APC – Niger
East) noted with concern that “banditry and kidnapping has become a daily
incidence in Katsina, Kebbi, Kaduna, Niger and Zamfara States for sometime now
with huge consequence of loss of lives.”
He expressed worry that “the continuous security
challenges and related attacks by bandits on towns and villages in Niger East
Senatorial District have meted untold hardship on the people and subjected the
affected areas under serious survival threats.”
Accordingly, the upper chamber in its resolutions urged
the Federal Government to establish a permanent military base at the boundary
between Alawa and Uregi areas of Shiroro and Rafi Local Government Areas of
Niger State to restore confidence in the security and safety of the affected
communities.
The Senate also called on the Chief of Army Staff,
Tukur Buratai, to form a military operation similar to Operation Sharan Daji to
mop-up the bandits in their abode at Bakacin Hatsi along Madaka town and Uregi,
the Alawa axis as well as Kamuku forest in Niger State.
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