National Assembly:

The case of insecurity in Nigeria has become intractable. As the Armed Forces pursue terrorists at one end, they surface in another, leaving deaths and destruction. Apart from Kaduna, Benue, Taraba and Plateau states are the new epicentres! For this,  the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, came down hard on the Muhammadu Buhari government for its inability to curb insecurity successfully.

Members of the lower chamber, apart from calling for the sacking or resignation of the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.) and the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (retd.), advocated that the National Legislature be shut down for not doing enough in its oversight of the Executive arm.

Early last week the House and security committees held a four-hour meeting with security chiefs over after the Kaduna International Airport and an Abuja-Kaduna train.

On Wednesday, Chairman of the House Committee on Navy, Yusuf Gagdi, rose and moved a motion of urgent public importance titled ‘Terrorist Attacks on Kanam and Wase Communities of Plateau State,’ while Messrs Bem Mzondu and John Dyegh, as the Punch put it, moved a separate motion of urgent public importance on killings in Benue State.

Gagdi partly said, “We were elected by the people to represent them here, with a specific mandate mentioned in the Constitution. It begins to beat my imagination whether that function donated (sic) to us is rarely being practised by all the tiers of the government. Before we do anything, the first responsibility is the security of life and welfare of the people, than any other thing.

“Nigerians are being killed daily. The four angles of Nigeria…nowhere is safe. What is beating my imagination more is that aside from the killings, who is responsible? Not in terms of the people that are committing those atrocities; the Nigerian government has come out on different occasions to say they know them. They call them terrorists, bandits and Boko Haram in some regions. ‘Who is responsible’ is the question.”

The lawmaker added, “We have a President, we have governors, we have the National Assembly, we have Senators and Representatives put together. Who is responsible for the safety and security of the lives and properties of the people of this country? Of course, without any fear of political misrepresentation, it is Mr President.

“Is our President aware of what is happening to the people of this country? Is he holding the strategic operational commanders responsible for the failure in the protection of life and property of the people of this country? Before people are killed, one of the operational commanders must be (held) responsible.”

Gagdi further lamented that the National Assembly has kept appropriating more funds for the security forces, while nobody is held accountable for the growing insecurity in the nation.

“There must be someone somewhere that has neglected their responsibility or discharged their duty to the best of their ability,” he stated.