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Senate lends voice on insecurity, summons Pantami

The Legislative Compliance and Communications committee has been mandated by the senate to summon the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami.

The panel was yesterday asked to impress on the Minister, the need to implement the resolutions of the Senate regarding security issues related to the mandate of his ministry.

This follows the motion moved by Senator Emmanuel Bwacha representing Taraba South, under Order 42 and 52 of the Senate Rules.
He noted that the rate of insecurity in Nigeria had increased astronomically and reached a melting point. Bwacha said the unfortunate development had led to kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery, assassination, and other criminal activity in the country.

According to him, “The assassination of the Nasarawa State APC Chairman and other high profile cases are still fresh in our memories.”A Chinese national was recently abducted in my community, his whereabouts are still unknown.

“There is growing suspicion of the complicity of officials of state saddled with the responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of the citizens but compromised in the process.

“This is heightened by the arrest of several security operatives involved in armed robbery and kidnapping activities across the country.
“It is only in Nigeria that communication facilities can be used without a biometric process, no valid identification of passport details (in the case of foreigners) in place to check abuse,” the senator added.

He added that bandits and terrorists now negotiate for ransom using telephones and get away with it.
“How can we be so negligent and insensitive to the safety and security of citizens?

“Senate is concerned that the confidence between the protected and the protector is being increasingly eroded resulting in the breakdown of law and order as demonstrated in the #EndSARS protest which was subsequently hijacked by miscreants.

“The Senate further notes that political permutations across the landscape are attracting politicians to recruit criminals to destabilize the corporate existence of Nigeria.

“These evil intents can be easily achieved given the poor control over communication facilities viz inability of our security apparatus and service providers to effectively manage this all-important sector,” Bwacha said.
The red chamber decided after the consideration of the motion on the spate of growing insecurity in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai has said that the poor state of roads is hampering the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency.
According to him, the dilapidated washed off roads, which were built 40 years ago, are sited in Borno and Adamawa states.

Buratai said: “Let me use this opportunity to express how bad roads in areas of military operations are affecting our quick responses to terrorists’ attacks and ambushes.”
He noted that the insurgents, cashed in on the delays in responses to attacks and ambushes along four dilapidated roads in Borno.

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