The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, mandated the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to investigate and ensure culprits responsible for the recent killings in Plateau State were brought to book.
The House also mandated Operation Safe Heaven to identify and evacuate all cells of bandits within the state.
The lower chamber urged the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, to declare the killings as a national emergency.
These resolutions followed the adoption a motion of urgent national importance by Hon. Dachung Bagos, during plenary on Tuesday.
Bagos, while moving the motion, noted that the recent attacks in some local government areas of Plateau and some communities within his constituency had lingered for some months with damage to crops and farmlands.
Bagos stated, “Chapter IV Of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees the right to life, dignity of person and property of all citizen as well as security and safety.
“The provision on the security and right to life by the constitution. There has been an increase in the rate of insecurity and killing of innocent souls by persons, who have been tagged as ‘suspected herdsmen’ in Nigeria of which my state and my constituency have been part of the areas affected.
“Seven miners of my immediate constituency were gruesomely killed in cold blood on the 9th of July, 2023, around Farin Lamba of Jos South LGA, Plateau State. Most of my people live in fear of the unknown due to insecurity and can no longer access their farmlands with ease, which is their main source of livelihood.”
The House also urged the IGP to immediately provide a Mobile Police Force Squadron formation in Mangu communities of Mangu/Bokkos Federal Constituency, Plateau State and other affected communities to safeguard the lives of the people.
Moving the motion, Hon. Lalu David noted that the recent terrorist attacks on the people of Mangu Local Government Area and neighbouring communities, which killed more than 300 persons, with others seriously injured, properties destroyed and over 18, 000 people displaced at different internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps within the local government area were devastating. David also noted that most of the surviving victims were currently receiving medical attention at different hospitals within the state.
The lawmaker expressed worry that the continuous attacks by the terrorist groups in the communities, if not addressed properly, will lead to low farm yield, which will worsen the existing food uncertainty in the communities.
To this end, the House urged the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, to direct the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, to immediately provide relief materials to the victims of the attack in the affected communities, aerial surveillance and support to flush out the terrorists and destroy their camps to avoid reoccurrence and allow innocent farmers to return to their farms and ancestral homes.
The House further mandated its Committees on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Defence, Army, Air Force, Police and Legislative Compliance (when constituted) to ensure compliance and report weekly until the insecurity was brought under control.
Deji Elumoye, Juliet Akoje in Abuja and George Okoh in Makurdi
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