Senators, Reps seek urgent action against insecurity
The Senate will meet President Bola Tinubu next week on the spate of insecurity after a parley with security chiefs, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said.
Also, House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas urged the President to make tougher decisions to halt the killings.
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde said the time for state police has come.
He dismissed fears of abuse, saying states that can maintain them should be allowed to set them up.
According to him, Amotekun was formed due to the Federal Government’s refusal to approve state police.
He got the backing of Southwest Speakers, who visited him in Ibadan, the state capital.
Also yesterday, House spokesman, Akintunde Rotimi, broke down in tears over the killing of two monarchs and abduction of six school children in Ekiti State.
The country has been reeling under serious terrorism, banditry and kidnapping, which have taken a turn for the worse.
In a renewed wave of crime, kidnappers have killed their victims, while huge ransoms have been paid.
Akpabio said the meeting with the President has become expedient.
The motion on insecurity was sponsored by the entire 109 senators.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele said: “The Senate notes with sadness the rising spate of killings, kidnappings, banditry, and other criminal activities in the nation.
Makinde said Southwest governors were forced to set up the Western Nigeria Security Network Agency (Amotekun) after the Federal Government rejected calls for state police.
He believes it was time to revisit the matter.
According to him, the state police is an idea whose time has come.
He dismissed fears of abuse, saying they were unfounded.
Makinde said: “A lot of people may not know that before we launched Amotekun in this state, some of us went to the Federal Government.
“We asked to be allowed to set up state police for our various states but we did not get that approval during the time of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I disagreed at that particular time and still disagree to date that the states are not in the position to maintain state police.
“I have never seen where the Federal Government went to a particular state and gave the police everything they needed. So, the states are already maintaining the police.
“Give us the responsibility first and see if certain states will be able to maintain it or not. But since we could not get state police, we settled for Amotekun.“All the state assemblies in the Southwest passed a common law for its establishment.
“So, we have to be pushing for state police, and you lawmakers have a role to play to make that a reality.”
Lawmaker weeps
House spokesman Rotimi broke down in tears while presenting an urgent motion on the killing of two traditional rulers in his constituency in Ekiti and the abduction of some school children by gunmen.
Presenting his motion in an emotion-laden voice interrupted intermittently by tears, Rotimi told the House how the monarchs were killed by bandits, leaving several others with life-threatening injuries.
Another member approached the Ekiti lawmaker to console him, while the Speaker told him to “take it easy honourable”.
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Rotimi said: “There has been an increase in criminal activities in Ekiti North 1 (Ikole / Oye) Federal Constituency in recent times resulting in the lost lives and properties.
“The constituency is exposed to peculiar security challenges due to the nature of our forests and topography, and more painfully because Ekiti Federal roads are some of the most dilapidated in the entire country.
“On Monday, these criminals carried out a dastardly attack in the Oke-Ako area in Ikole Local Government Area resulting in the death of two traditional rulers…and leaving a host of others with life-threatening injuries.
“This is not an isolated event, as in the past few days alone, a commercial driver was killed between Ayedun and Ayebode by armed bandits, and just yesterday (Monday), a school bus load of students were abducted in Emure Ekiti and their whereabouts is still unknown”
He said one of the slain monarchs, the Olumojo of Imojo, Oba Samuel Olatunde, “was an intellectual and highly intelligent historian and orator who always spoke truth to power”.
The other monarch, the late Elesun of Esun, he said, Oba Babatunde Ogunsakin, was “a peace-loving king who was very hands-on in the development of Esun-Ayedun communities”.
He added: “Because of the topography of the area, and the bad roads, there has been an incursion of murderous elements who parade themselves as herdsmen leading to heightened insecurity.
“The entire people of Imojo in Oye Local Government and Esun in Ikole Local Government and the entire state have been thrown into mourning on account of the loss of our highly revered traditional rulers who were forces for community development, peace, and stability in the constituency and the entire state.
“The Nigeria Army has a military outpost on the road, which has been non-functional, as they only patrol on Tuesdays, leaving the communities exposed for the rest of the days”.
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Following his motion, the House asked the Chief of Army Staff to redeploy military personnel to the outpost along the Oke-Ako area to enhance security and forestall a repeat of the killings.
The House also urged the Inspector General of Police, the Commandant General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC), and other security agencies to deploy more men to Ekiti North 1 and ensure that the killers are brought to justice.
It asked the Ministry of Works and the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to immediately rehabilitate the Ayedun to Irele road and others in the constituency.
The House asked security agencies to do everything to rescue the pupils and teachers.
