The House of Representatives is to launch an investigation into allegations of non-payment of allowances to personnel in the military, police and other security agencies.
In addition, a House Committee would investigate the use of the contributions of State Governments and other forms of donations by the military and other security agencies
The panel would also investigate and determine the status of releases from the military, police and other security agencies on the utilization of such releases including, Presidential intervention releases.
This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance by Sergious Ogun (PDP, Edo), who noted that widespread kidnapping in Nigeria is affecting almost all states of the country with hardly a day passing without news of fresh kidnappings, even in places that did not experience kidnappings in the past.
He said: “Kidnappers have become so emboldened that they now engage in mass kidnappings and in places such as Zamfara State, whole families are kidnapped.
“Killings in rural areas have increased and have extended to almost all parts of the country.
“We are aware that the military has been suffering reverses and recording high casualties, including the killing of about 100 soldiers last week and the seizure by Boko Haram of 17 pickup vehicles from the army.
“In the past, these reverses were always attributed to low morale of servicemen and the inability to pay them their full entitlements but despite the increased deployment of soldiers, Special Task Force and Police, these killings, kidnappings, and reverses have continued.
“The media has been reporting complaints by military and para-military servicemen that they have not been receiving their pension as and when due and it is worrisome as there may be a link between the state of welfare of the military and the para-military since men and their morale and effectiveness”.
The motion was unanimously adopted after a voice vote and the Committee has nine weeks to carry out its investigation.
