Senate Probes Kebbi School Abductions, Killing Of Brig-General

…Death Penalty For Kidnappers

The Senate has opened an investigation into the recent abduction of 24 female secondary school students at Maga, in Kebbi State.

Specifically, the lawmakers are demanding the identity of the military commander who allegedly ordered the withdrawal of troops from the school, allowing the bandits who arrived a few minutes later, to abduct the girls unchallenged.

The Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, had raised the alarm a few hours after the girls were abducted, saying that an unnamed military commander ordered the withdrawal of the troops shortly before the attack on the school. The girls were eventually released after a week in captivity.

The senators also resolved to probe the abduction and killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba, who was recently killed by terrorists in an ambush while on duty in Borno State.

Senators who spoke during the debate, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio, said someone in the slain General’s company shared his location with terrorists who used the information to ambush, capture and kill him.

Similarly, the senators declared kidnapping as an act of terrorism and accordingly, passed a resolution prescribing the death penalty for offenders.

The resolutions followed a motion by a Kwara senator, Lola Ashiru who decried the repeated invasion of communities in his state in recent times.

Ashiru cited the recent church abductions at Eruku, Isapa and other communities in Kwara South, saying that the communities now live in fear.

In his own contribution, Senator Sani Musa faulted the rescue of 58 abductors by the Federal Government without firing a single shot, raising suspicion that ransom might have been paid to the abductors.

Musa said the terrorists can only be defeated with modern technology, wondering where the office of the National Security Adviser and the Ministry of Communications have not been able to track and arrest the terrorists who use mobile phones and other communication gadgets in their operations.

The Niger senator said the two government agencies should be able to tell Nigerians the locations of the terrorists because they have the technology to detect such.

The senator also insisted on identifying those negotiating ransom on behalf of the terrorists, stressing that the intermediaries must know where the terrorists live.

On his part, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe accused the government of not telling Nigerians the truth about the security challenges plaguing the nation.

According to him, communities in many local governments in Katsina, Zamfara and other states in the north, have been paying taxes to terrorists and bandits for their own safety.

“If were the Commander-in-Chief, I would call for the head of the commander who ordered the withdrawal of troops from the Kebbii school shortly before the terrorists arrived,” Abaribe said.

Senator Abdul Ningi noted that kidnapping has become somewhat a more “lucrative business” than oil and politics, even as he charged the government to be more proactive in responding to the mounting challenges.

Another Kwara senator, Sadiq Umar, said the work against terrorism cannot be won if collaborators are not arrested and prosecuted.

Declaring that the country is at war, Umar said there are gaps in the operational method of the troops while calling for more investment in security.

The Senate called for amendment to the Firearms Act to allow “responsible bear arms for self defence, noting that the practice is obtainable in about 175 countries of the world.

It was also observed that the nation’s armed forces are being overstretched, citing a country like Egypt with bigger numerical strength than Nigeria despite its lower population.

Borno South senator, Ali Ndume, who gave the breakdown, said, Egypt with a population of about 100 million, has one million-man army, 500,000 police personnel and 800,000 persons on reserve.

In contrast, he said the Nigerian Army, despite having operations in 32 states in Nigeria, has less than 200, 000 officers and men, while the Nigeria Police have about 4000,000.

But comibg from a different angle, Benue senator, Titus Zam, lamented that bandits have taken over many communities in his state, after chasing the farmers away from their homes.

“The military knows where the terrorists are. They know their locations,” Zam declared, there have never been determined efforts to rout them out.

Agreeing with Zam, Kebbi senator, Yahaya Abdullahi said, “We know who they are, where they are, the routes they follow, so we must pursue and eliminate them.

” We should not allow the bandits to intimidate us, deprive our children of education. We are shutting down schools, what do we tell the world? That bandits have forced Nigerian government to shut down schools. We should go after them and eliminate them.”

The Senate consequently referred the matter to its security-related standing committees for investigation.

They are committees on Army, Air Force, Navy, National Security and Intelligence, Interior and Special Duties.

There are to submit their report to the Senate in two weeks.

Senate Probes Kebbi School Abductions, Killing Of Brig-General is first published on The Whistler Newspaper