House of Reps summon President Buhari over security situation

President Muhammadu Buhari is to appear at plenary before members of the House of Representatives to answer questions over security situation in the country.

Though the date is yet to be fixed, President Buhari is expected to be confronted with the question of sacking his military and security chiefs having being accused of failure over the country’s security of lives and property.

The lawmakers passed a vote of no confidence on the Service Chiefs.

The House will also suspend legislative sittings for three days in solidarity with victims of the killings around the country.

Furthermore, the House has asked that killer herdsmen are declares as terrorists, while all cattle rearers must undergo security profiling.

The decision of the lawmakers followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Mark Gbilah (APC, Benue), who said the Federal government failed in its primary responsibility of welfare and security of lives and property to the people of his State.

Citing the killing of two clergymen and others on Tuesday, Gbilah said killing of people in their homes at night has not stopped despite numerous appeals to the Federal government for intervention.

According to him, army personnel deployed from the 72 Army battalion in Makurdi to quell the incessant murder in Gwer East, Gwer West and several other Local Govermemt Areas (LGAs) by armed herdsmen took the law into their hands in a blatant display of brigandage and criminality and attacked Naka town in retaliation for the alleged murder of one of their colleagues.

He said Benue state government has repeatedly raised alarm to security agencies about the alleged location of the attackers near Adaka in Makurdi LGA and Gbaji Gwer West LGA from where recent attacks were launched against neighboring communities.

He regretted that security agencies curiously do not employ a proactive strategy to preemptively attack the locations or carry out continuous surveillance of identified flash points.

Another lawmaker from Benue, Dickson Tarkighin (APC) said the people of Benue have lost faith in Nigeria while adding that the killers were from Nasarawa and other neighbouring states.

Edward Pwajok (APC, Plateau) said the security chiefs should be summoned to face the lawmakers and be interrogated in the full glare of the world.

Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta) said the President has breached the constitution by failing in his primary responsibility to the nation and that the House should not be afraid to activate the relevant provision for such breaches.

Kehinde Agboola (PDP, Ekiti) said: “It is like the leadership of this country is confused, if the President cannot resign, he should sack the Service Chiefs”.

On his part, Deputy Minority Leader, Chukwuka Onyeama urged his colleagues to be decisive in their decision and call the President to order.

Sunday karimi (PDP, Kogi) said Nigerians are disappointed in the President, “Buhari is not the Buhari of 1985. Nigerians gave him a strong mandate.

“He has changed, he has failed to move the nation forward, Section 143 should be invoked,” he said.

Aliyu Magaji (APC, Jigawa) said though he belonged to the ruling party but President Buhari has not shown enough capacity to convince Nigerians that he is capable of tackling the many challenges facing the country.

“Enough  is enough, this beyond sentiment, the Service chief must go, if there is no Nigeria, we cannot be here,” he said.

The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote by Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

Related posts

24 Internet Fraudsters Arrested by EFCC in Edo

Over 150 People Rescued from Niger Boat Incident, Says NSEMA

Russia Takes Control of Vuhledar After Two Years of Ukrainian Defiance