The Senate on Tuesday debated extensively on the killings by Fulani herdsmen in Benue State and other parts of Nigeria.



The lawmakers said their resolutions, which were later conveyed to President Muhammadu Buhari by the leadership of the National Assembly, were “wake-up call” to the President and the Federal Government who “must” take urgent action on the crisis before it escalates.

They also resolved that the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, “must” within 14 days arrest the herdsmen suspected to have killed over 70 persons in Benue State recently.

The debate followed the consideration and adoption of the report by the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of Security Infrastructure of Nigeria, after an investigative visit to Benue last weekend.

During the debate on the matter, which lasted about six hours, members of the Senate also spoke on restructuring of the country’s governance structure, state police and the “cattle colonies” being proposed by the Federal Government.

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, in his closing remarks after the debate, asked the Federal Government to take timely and drastic steps to end the crisis.

Saraki, while hailing the panel headed by the Majority Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, expressed condolences of the Senate to the people and government of Benue State, especially on those who lost their lives and properties to the attacks.

He said, “From the contributions by everybody today – we have taken our time, almost six hours just to deliberate on this issue – it is clear that this goes beyond religious or ethnic issues. It is a breakdown, really, of the security apparatus of the country. And it is a wake-up call that we must act now. Failure to act is an indictment on all of us.”

Several lawmakers, who spoke during the debate, identified various causes of the problem and recommended various solutions, some of which they argued over.

The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who urged the lawmakers to approach the matter with “a real sense of responsibility.”

“What we see now going on in the country is a situation of killings followed by retaliations. A responsible institution must rise to the occasion and say that enough is enough,” Ekweremadu stated.

He added that religious and ethnic leaders who were silent on the matter were now speaking out.

He therefore recommended declaration of a state of emergency in the country, noting that it would not vacate the current political leadership of the country.

The Deputy Senate President stressed that since there were claims of aliens crossing the borders to commit the crimes, the emergency could lead to shutting the borders. This, he stated, could be justified under international laws on the doctrine of necessity.

Also speaking, Senator Dino Melaye said, “What happened in Benue State has showed like never before that in this country, we live in perilous times. We live in times where justice is the scarcest commodity in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“I call on President Muhammadu Buhari to ring the bell of justice. I call on Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to ring the bell of justice. I call on the Nigerian Senate to ring the bell of justice.”

A former Senate President, David Mark, who is from Benue, called for short-term and long-term solutions to the problem.

He said, “Presently, there is no intelligence transmission between the organs, villagers and government. And if there is, government is not proactive. Nigeria is not the country with the largest number of cattle in the world, are they having all these crises in other places?

“There are modern ways of doing things and we must grow with time. We cannot be operating an archaic system that we have if it doesn’t fit into the modern situation.”

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Senate on Tuesday night was at the Presidential Villa to deliver the resolutions by the upper chamber of the National Assembly to President Buhari.

The source said the move was to “show the urgency that the matter required.”

Read more at http://www.nancygist.com/2018/01/we-give-you-14-days-to-arrest-killer.html?m=1

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