…Wase raises alarm over rising killings
The House of Representatives has ordered an investigation into rising killings in Plateau State, linked to banditry, particularly in Wase Local Government Area and adjoining communities.
More worrisome is the allegation that the police in the area are setting suspected bandits free after being arrested and linked to some attacks.
Due to the seriousness of the issue, the House, which was presided over by the Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, named an eight-member committee in plenary on Tuesday to immediately investigate it.
The resolution followed a matter of urgent public importance moved by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Rep. Ahmed Idris Wase, to call attention to the deteriorating security situation in his constituency.
Briefing the House, Idris Wase cited specific cases where he alleged that the police released suspected bandits, including the bandits who recently kidnapped the wife of the district head of Wase.
The DS informed the House that apart from killing their victims, the bandits also sent many packing from their homes and destroyed their economic activities.
Wase said he was pained that as a senior member of the National Assembly, he intervened in several cases to ensure that the suspected attackers were traced and arrested, only to later hear that they had been released by the police.
“Mr Speaker, I am in pain because these people were arrested. As we speak, there is no prosecution.
“You only get to know to your surprise that they were released by the police”, he told the House.
The DS, called for security beef up in Wase and the adjoining communities and also sought interventions from the National Emergency Management Agency to reduce the trauma of the victims.
According to him, the bandits are regrouping in places like Wase after they were dislodged by security forces in Borno, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna and other locations where insurgency and banditry thrive.
Lawmakers, who contributed to the debate, noted that insecurity had become the number one problem of the country and must be tackled head-on.
“For the first time in the history of this country, all the six geological zones are battling one form of insecurity or another.
“It means that we must find solutions faster than we are doing”, House Deputy Minority Leader, Rep. Toby Okechukwu, said.
On her part, Deputy House Whip, Rep. Nkiruka Onyejeocha, stated that nobody, no matter how highly placed, should be spared in the course of the investigation.
The committee, which is chaired by the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Rep. Abubakar Fulata, has two weeks to turn in a report.