With the spate of insecurity in Nigeria, occasioned by the onslaught of bandits in the Northern part of the country, the National Assembly had called on President Muhammadu Buhari to proscribe the marauding bandits as ‘terrorists”. They also asked the president to track down all their known leaders for immediate arrest and prosecution or declare them wanted with bounties placed over their heads
This motion was first moved on the floor of the upper legislative chamber of the NASS before it was also adopted by the lower chambers. Senator Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir, the lawmaker representing the Sokoto East Senatorial Zone moved the motion in the red chamber, alongside eight others.
He said following the current onslaught against the bandits in Zamfara State, they have moved to his Senatorial District and are causing pains to the people of his district – with men of the force said to be the target of their recent killing spree.
The senator who cited the killing of a yet-to-be ascertained number of civilians including 21 security personnel recently in Dama and Gangara as a case in point said it showed how dangerous these bandits have become. According to him, losing such a number of trained officers would further deplete the numerical strength of the security personnel in the country, thereby jeopardizing the security architecture of the country.
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Senator Gobir also pointed out that the lopsided nature of the fight against insecurity across the nation may be the reason the battles are being lost by the government. He suggested that depending on the states to coordinate the fight against banditry may not prove successful. “The operation should be holistic instead of restrictive in order to produce effective and the desired results,” he said.
He, therefore, called on the Senate to adopt the motion as he said the issue with the bandits in the North requires concerted and urgent action by the declaration of total war on banditry.
The Senate, before adopting the motion and making a resolution, observed a minute of silence in honour of the fallen heroes and civilians who lost their lives in the unwholesome activities of the bandits.
Similarly, the House of Representatives has also asked the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to designate bandits, who have dominated the North-West and parts of the North-Central geopolitical zones, as terrorists.
Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson, at the plenary on Thursday, moved a motion of urgent public importance to urge the chamber to back the Senate.
The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, had asked for those who were against the motion but the lawmakers chorused, “No!” So the motion was unanimously adopted through voice vote.
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