The two chambers of the National Assembly on their resumption from a five-week recess on Tuesday reviewed the state of the nation and declared that insecurity in the country had reached an alarming level.
The House of Representatives lamented killings, kidnapping, banditry and insurgency across the country and said something must be done urgently to arrest the situation.
On their part, the Peoples Democratic members in the House assessed insecurity in the country, particularly the killings in Plateau State, and concluded that the Federal Government was complacent.
The Senate expressed concern that insecurity in the country had deteriorated. It promised to pursue the community policing policy with vigour.
In the last three months, there has been an upsurge in killings and kidnapping across the country, particularly in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and Niger states. Besides, there have been renewed attacks by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province on residents and troops in the North-East.
Despite the killings and kidnapping, Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) on Sunday, said insecurity in the country was not as bad as it was being reported. He said Nigerians ought to be thankful for the job being done by the government.
But the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Benjamin Kalu, in an interview with journalists in Abuja, said insecurity in the country was alarming.
He stated that the National Assembly must do something to address the worsening insecurity.
He said, “The insecurity in the land is too much. It is alarming. We can no longer paint it with beautiful colours. We can no longer discuss it in low tunes. The cries of the people that have lost their lives are giving us sleepless nights and something needs to be done about it. And this 9th Assembly is going to look at various legislative interventions with regard to insecurity in the land, to ensure that Nigerians are safe – better than they have always been – because that is the core mandate of every government – to protect lives and property.
Kalu noted the renewed insurgent attacks in the North-East and the role of the police in ensuring the country’s internal security.
The lawmaker said, “There were aspersions on the police, on whether they can do it or not. The recent reports that we are getting show that the police are capable of handling our internal security. There are some success stories coming from what they are doing at the moment. We are going to use legislative intervention to support them the more, and all the other role players within the armed forces to make sure that the people are motivated the more to protect Nigerians.”
