Kidnapping: Senate probes sudden withdrawal of military personnel from Kebbi school
Kidnapping: Senate probes sudden withdrawal of military personnel from Kebbi school
The Senate has mandated its joint committee on security to investigate the sudden withdrawal of military personnel from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi shortly before the bandits’ invasion.
The committee is to report its findings in two weeks.
The upper chamber also directed the joint committee to probe the circumstances surrounding the killing of Brig.-Gen. Musa Uba.
The Senate also resolved to dissolve its standing committees on National Security and Intelligence, as well as Air Force with a view to reconstituting them.
It also resolved that the Leadership of the Senate should meet with President Bola Tinubu to brief him on the crucial resolutions and views of the Senate.
The resolutions were sequel to a motion moved by Senate Deputy Leader, Lola Ashiru during Wednesday’s plenary.
The motion was titled “Urgent Need to Address Escalating Insecurity in Kwara, Kebbi and Niger, Call for Immediate and Comprehensive Federal Intervention”.
Other resolutions of the Senate include commending President Tinubu and security agencies for their rapid interventions and rescue of some of the kidnapped victims.
“We urge them to sustain coordinated operations until all abducted persons nationwide are rescued and perpetrators apprehended.
“Advice the Federal government to strengthen the local vigilance group to be able to respond swiftly to similar attack in future.
“This should also include a review of Nigeria firearm law to reflect the current security challenges as we have in more than 175 countries where responsible citizens are permitted to own guns.
“Resolve that the Senate undertakes a diplomatic engagement with the United States of America and other allied nations’ Parliaments.
“To strengthen cooperation on intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism training in addressing Nigeria’s security challenges.
“The Senate also observed a one-minute silence in memory of the departed souls”.
In his contribution, Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau said that insecurity had increased all over the country since President Donald Trump made a statement showing the possibility of the US to intervene militarily.
“This was in order to deal with the perceived notion that there is a genocide of Christians in Nigeria.
“Since then, the spate of these terrorist activities have increased in this country. Which shows that those who are into these heinous crimes do not love our country.
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“They’re moving in convoy to commit these atrocities. So we should deploy technology,” he said.
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele said “What is important is that a lot of people that were kidnapped, at least from Kwara, Kebbi and Niger, have regained their freedom.
“At what cost is what a lot of Nigerians are wondering about. Some Nigerians have said the government negotiated to get them out.
“Those are facts that only the people in charge of our security can be able to confirm.
“But one thing that we have also witnessed and recognised as an official position of government is that government has not been paying ransom.
“What is good news about this that no one can run away from is the fact that these people regained their freedom without a life being lost”.
