The House of Representatives has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency on security in the country as part of urgent measures to address the worsening situation.
The House took the decision at an executive session members held on Tuesday that lasted for over three hours in Abuja, coming out with an 11-point resolution.
It said, “Considering the security situation, the President should immediately declare a State of Emergency on Security so as to fast track all measures to ensure the restoration of peace in the country.”
The session, which was presided over by the Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, condemned the recent attacks on security agents/formations and communities in different parts of the country by criminal elements.
The House sympathised with the victims of terrorism, banditry/kidnapping and commiserated with the families that lost loved ones.
The House resolution specifically mentioned some of the affected locations, stating, “Ukpo, Ifitedunu, Dunukofia, Geidam LGA, Abagana, IDP Camp in Makurdi Urikpam, Jato-Aka, Police Divisions in the South East, Ehime Mbano, Uzo-Uwani in Enugu State, Uzuakoli, Abia State, Balenga Local Government Area of Gombe State, and parts of Imo…”
The House reiterated its commitment to finding solutions to the security challenges in the country by engaging a wide segment of stakeholders, and protecting the corporate existence of Nigeria.
In furtherance of this, it invited the National Security Adviser (NSA); the service chiefs; paramilitary chiefs; Controller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service; and the Managing Director of Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) to brief it on the measures taken so far to address the security challenges.
For the judiciary, the House asked that the trial of all suspects in custody for alleged involvement in terrorism, banditry and kidnapping be fast-tracked.
It observed that the security situation outweighed the number of security agents in the country and called for the immediate recruitment of more hands to beef up the number.
It further urged Mr President to take measures to implement full financial autonomy for local government councils in the country to enable them to handle certain community issues before they snowballed into a major crisis.
On its part, the House said it would hold a security summit on May 24 to look into the security situation and come up with recommendations on the way forward.
It also called for the provision of relief materials to communities affected by the criminal attacks.
Other items on the resolution were, “The Federal Government should ensure the protection of National Infrastructure assets, particularly the Shiroro and Kainji Dams in Niger State.
“The House mandates all its Security Committees to immediately commence comprehensive audit of all military and paramilitary assets and arms in our Armed Services and revert back to the House within 4 weeks.”
Meanwhile, the speaker announced that an ad-hoc committee on security the House earlier set up to interface with the executive on the same subject of insecurity, would be inaugurated on Wednesday, April 28.
