Reps summon Buhari over killings

…Suspend plenary in honour of victims
…Pass no confidence vote on security chiefs
The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, summoned President Muhammadu Buhari to speak to lawmakers on the rising state of insecurity and the killings in parts of the country and what his administration is doing to stem the senseless killings by killer herdsmen.

The House also passed a vote of no confidence on all the service chiefs and heads of the various security agencies over their inability to halt the spate of killings.

Based on the no confidence vote, the House asked the President to sack the service and security chiefs and replace them with competent people who can tackle the unacceptable insecurity level in the country.

It further resolved to stop plenary for three days in solidarity with those killed in various unwarranted attacks throughout the country and in protest against the unending shedding of innocent blood by the heartless killers.

The House passed these resolutions following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Mark Gbillah on the alleged reprisal attack by soldiers on Naka Village in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State and the inability of the army and other security agencies to end the killings perpetuated in Benue State by armed herdsmen.

Gbillah in his lead debate, condemned the attack on Naka Town on April 19 by rampaging soldiers who allegedly torched hundreds of houses, destroyed property and killed helpless villagers.

He expressed worry over allegations that soldiers deployed from the 72 Army Battalion in Makurdi to stop the incessant killings by armed herdsmen in Gwer-East, Gwer-West and several other local governments in the state took the law into their hands in a blatant display of brigandage and criminality and attacked residents of Naka Town in retaliation for the murder of a soldier by yet-to-be identified persons.

The House member from Benue State lamented that the herdsmen attacks assumed a new dimension on April 23, when two Catholic Priests, Fr. Joseph Gor and Fr. Felix Tyolaha, the church catechist, 16 worshippers and several others were murdered in cold blood while attending early morning mass at St. Ignatius Catholic Mission, Ukpo Ayar, Mbalom.

Apart from persons killed by the attackers, Gbillah added that several other villagers attending a funeral service near the church are unaccounted for.

He said, “Am aware that the Benue State government has raised the alarm severally to the army, police and other security and intelligence agencies about the alleged location of these bandits near Adaka in Makurdi Local Government and Gbaji in Gwer-West Local Government from where recent attacks were launched against neighbouring communities.

“But it’s very worrying that the army and the police curiously do not employ a proactive strategy to preemptively attack these locations and carry out continuous surveillance of identified flash points, but usually only respond after the fact when scores of innocent citizens have lost their lives and property.”

Contributing to debate on the motion, Hon Tarkighir Dickson accused the army of colluding and collaborating with the armed herdsmen, even after the army had acknowledged losing 27 men to the killers.

“This same army found it necessary to burn down Naka Town over the alleged killing of one of their men,” he said, insisting that the people of Benue State have lost faith in the country.

Similarly, Hon Edward Pwajok, warned that the repeated attacks on innocent citizens point to the fact that Nigeria is heading in the direction of a failed state.

Also, Hon Karimi Sunday regretted that Nigerians have to go through this horrendous ordeal in the face of the current economic challenges in the country, adding that “there is need for us as a House and representatives of the people to take the bull by the horn; it is time for us to invoke Section 143 of the 1999 Constitution, because this is not what Nigerians voted for”.

Some lawmakers: Nur Sherriff, Johnbull Shekaru, Taiwo Agboola and Chukwuka Onyema, in their contributions, maintained that the Buhari-led government has failed in its duty of protecting the citizens.

Briefing House correspondents after plenary, Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon Abdulrazaq Namdas, said that the House reached the resolution to summon the President because members believe that his directives to stop the killings and arrest the perpetrators are not being obeyed by the service and security chiefs.

Namdas said that the House is yet to fix a date when the president is expected to appear to answer the House summons but assured that the president would be communicated of the House resolution.

When asked what the House would do in the event the president shuns the invitation, Namdas replied that, “l can’t assume the president won’t appear but l believe he is a responsible leader, and we’ll cross the bridge when we get there”.