Senator Dino Melaye, representing
Kogi West in the Senate, has decried the threat posed by kidnapping to the
Nigerian State, saying pragmatic approach must be put in place to tackle the
malaise.
Melaye had brought the motion on
the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.
Melaye, who presented the motion
while coming under a point of order, was unanimously supported by lawmakers
across party lines.
Presenting his motion, Melaye
prayed the chamber to call on security agencies to immediately wade into what
he described as the “dastardly and abnormal acts” which pose a threat to the
lives of Nigerians.
Speaking on the motion, the
Senate Minority Leader, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia), bemoaned the
activities of bandits along other expressways across the country.
He called on security agencies to
rise to the occasion, pointing out that they have a constitutional duty to
protect the lives of Nigerian citizens.
The lawmaker also condemned the
activities of some security personnel who were allegedly fingered to be working
in collaboration with kidnappers.
Senate President, Ahmad Ibrahim
Lawan, said the Senate would adopt a radical approach in tackling the rising
spate of kidnapping and insecurity across the country.
He said, “The issue of
kidnapping, banditry and other crimes affect all of us. I agree completely that
we need to do something differently.
“You recall that before we went
on recess, we agreed we need to go back to the report to review the
architecture of security in Nigeria, which the 8th Senate set up, in addition
to a public hearing on a way to ensure that we review the security architecture
and structure of our agencies today.
“The way they are designed, we
are not getting the best out of them; and we can’t go on like this. We will
take it up with the executive arm of government, and also our Committee on
Communications and the Federal Ministry of Communications.”
The Senate President stated that
the ministry has expressed its willingness to block the phone lines that have
not been registered.
“The bandits and kidnappers use
telephone lines to negotiate, so it means there will always be a lead to where
or who they are.
“At the last count, I was told
two million lines have been blocked. I think we should go far beyond that.
“And maybe we will need to be a
bit radical. We need to give the security agencies some more funds but insist
on accountability.”
Lawan urged the security agencies
to give an account on the utilisation of funds released to them.
“It is not enough to give them
money; we must see how they utilise it. We must insist on that; and if we do
that, we also insist that uniform people must not join the train, because they
are the ones that are supposed to protect us on highways.
“The military, the police and
other paramilitary agencies should allow ordinary people to use the train. Let
them ply the roads, because that would make other road users to use the roads,”
Lawan said.
Accordingly, the Senate urged the
security agencies to adequately secure the Lokoja-Abuja road and other roads in
the country.
The upper chamber also called on
the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to intensify efforts in
protecting the lives and properties of Nigerians.
The Senate, in its prayers
adopted, also resolved to introduce legislation that would curb the activities
of kidnappers in the country.
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