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Senate to Buhari: Declare bandits ‘terrorists’, wage total war against them 

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The Senate has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, declare bandits as terrorists and wage total war against them.

This was just as the upper chamber urged the President to give orders to the military to eliminate them by bombing their hideouts.

The Senate also asked President Buhari to immediately declare all known leadership of the bandits wanted, and track them wherever they are for arrest and prosecution.

These formed part of resolutions reached on Wednesday after the chamber considered a motion on banditry in Sokoto during plenary.

The motion was sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Gobir (APC, Sokoto East).

Presenting his motion, the lawmaker lamented that Sokoto  East Senatorial District has now become a safe haven for bandits, following a crackdown on them by the military in Zamfara.

He expressed worry that on Saturday 25th September, 2021, twenty one (21) Security Personal were killed in Dama and Gangara villages by rampaging bandits.

The lawmaker disclosed that out of those killed, 15 of them were soldiers, 3 mobile police and 3 members of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, in addition to yet to be ascertained number of civilians from the neighboring villages.

“This has gone to portray the seriousness of the problem which require concerted and urgent action by the declaration of total war on banditry”, he said.

According to Gobir, “losing such numbers of trained security personnel will further deplete the numerical strength of the security personnel we have in the country, therefore jeopardizing the security architecture of the country.”

He added that most of the bandits have now relocated to Sabon Bimini and Isa local Government due to the sustained military operation at the Zamfara axis.

The lawmaker observed that while the crackdown on the bandits was taking place in Zamfara state, no concrete measures have so far been taken in Sokoto State, leaving it totally exposed to the activities of bandits.

He further expressed worry that the present military onslaught on the bandits is not well co-ordinated because it is only being orchestrated in Zamfara State, instead of all the front line States ravaged by bandits.

Gobir, therefore, called on the military to carry out a holistic operation on frontline states such as Sokoto, Katsina, Niger and Kaduna in order to produce effective and the desired results.

In his remarks, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, commended the efforts of the Armed Forces in the sustained fight against insecurity in the country.

While calling for increased funding for the military, the Senate President tasked relevant Committees of the National Assembly to ensure that funds appropriated to the armed forces are judiciously applied for the purpose for which they are budget.

“Distinguished colleagues, I think the issue of insecurity is one issue we will never get tired of debating here, and we must commend our Armed Forces and other Security Agencies.

“They give their lives in trying to secure this country, and that is the ultimate sacrifice anybody could pay.

“I believe that they are doing their best, but we also need to do our best as a government by giving them the kind of resources that they need.

“I believe we have done that in the supplementary budget like pointed out, but we also need to improve the annual appropriation for them.

“If we could pass over N800 billion in the supplementary budget, I don’t see why we cannot improve the resources up to N1 trillion and then hold our security agencies accountable.

“[And] I believe that we need to monitor the procurement processes when we give such kind of resources to our Armed Forces.

“The security related committees, particularly the armed forces related committees – Defence, Army, Navy and Airforce Committees need to work very closely on the procurement processes by these services.

“We must ensure that funds appropriated are not put in the wrong areas, and ensure that this fight is taken to its logical conclusion.”

The Senate, accordingly, in its resolutions, urged the President and Commander in Chief to declare the bandits as Terrorists and wage total war against them, including bombing all their location to annihilate and eliminate them.

It also urged President Buhari to declare all known leadership of the bandits wanted and track them wherever they are for arrest and prosecution.

The chamber also directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other relevant Federal Government agencies to, as a matter of urgency, give all the necessary support to the victims of the menace of bandits in Sokoto and other parts of the country.

It also observed a minute silence in honor of the fallen heroes and civilians who lost their lives in the unwholesome activities of the bandits.

 

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Defence and Security

Army Has No Desire To Truncate Nigeria’s Democracy — COAS

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Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja
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The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, on Tuesday, restated the commitment of the Nigerian Army to defend the nation’s choice of government, democracy.

Addressing participants at a seminar on career planning and management organised by the Army headquarters, the COAS said the Army has no plans to truncate democracy in the country.

He charged officers of the Nigerian Army to remain above board in the discharge of their professional duties.

“Permit me to seize this opportunity to reiterate that the Armed Forces of Nigeria, particularly the Nigerian Army has come to terms with the country’s choice of democracy as the preferred system of governance,” he said during his address to officers.

“We are therefore agents of democracy and have no desire to truncate it. The Nigerian Army will continue to defend our constitution and not suspend it for whatever reason.

“It is the duty of our elected leaders to lead while the military does its job as enshrined in our constitution. Nigerian Army personnel must therefore remain professional and be above board as they discharge their constitutional duties.”

The commitment by the COAS followed the series of putsches in West and Central Africa which have experienced at least seven military takeovers in the last four years.

Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and most recently, Niger Republic — all members of the Economic Community of Western African States ( ECOWAS) — have pulled out from the regional bloc in last four years. Outside of West Africa, Chad and Sudan also experienced military coups in 2021.

 

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Defence and Security

Economic: Defence Chief Warns Coup Advocates

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The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has warned against advocating for a coup due to economic hardship, emphasizing patience and the superiority of democracy.

He made this known on Thursday while speaking with journalists at the Nigerian Army 6 Division Headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, after commissioning some building projects.

General Musa urged individuals promoting military takeover to cease such statements.

The Chief of Defence Staff had earlier commissioned the newly constructed Entrance Gate and Officers Transit Accommodation at the 6 Division Headquarters.

Protests have occurred in Ogun, Oyo, Kano, Niger and some parts of the country in the last few weeks over the hardship experienced in the country as Nigerians lament food inflation, high cost of living, amongst other harsh living conditions occasioned by the removal of petrol subsidy, forex crisis, amongst others.

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Defence and Security

Security: Bill To Introduce State Police Scales Second Reading

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Federal House of Representatives
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A Constitution Amendment Bill to introduce state police has scaled second reading in the House of Representatives.

The bill, which was sponsored by 13 members of the House, enjoyed support from majority of the lawmakers in the green chamber who believed that concerns of political victimisation by state governors, should take the backseat to the current state of insecurity across the country.

Last week, President Bola Tinubu and 36 state governors considered the creation of state police as solution to the menacing security challenges like kidnapping and banditry ubiquitous in the country.

State police has been a subject of controversy since the Seventh National Assembly and has failed to make it through the amendment phase.

Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had recently restated their position on state policing, as the solution to the country’s worsening security situation, lamenting that Nigeria is “almost on the road to Venezuela”.

Also, regional socio-political groups such as Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Middle Belt Forum, and the Northern Elders’ Forum, have repeatedly called for state police as solution the myriad of increasing security challenges confronting the nation.

Already, states in the South-West geopolitical zone have formed the Amotekun while their counterparts in the South-East also created state-owned security outfit Ebube Agu. The Benue Guards has also been operational in Benue State in the North Central while states like Katsina, Zamfara and other bandit-prone sub-nationals have also come up with similar state-established outfits.

However, these outfits have not been effective as anticipated as they don’t have the backing of the Federal Government or the Presidency while states continue to demand that Amotekun, Ebube Agu and others are granted license to bear assault rifles like AK-47 to confront lethal gun-toting marauders.

 

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