…Says nation’s security architecture has failed

…To develop new security design, mulls state police

From FRED ITUA, Abuja

The Senate, on Wednesday, declared that the nation’s security architecture has failed.

It also resolved to set up an adhoc committee to review the current security infrastructure in the country, in consultation with security agencies and state governors and come up with ways to solving the problem.

The upper chamber, during the two-hour debate, which is the longest on a single motion since the inauguration of the Eight Senate, also mulled the creation of state police to complement the existing federal structure in tackling insecurity in the country.

The Senate took these positions when it considered a motion tagged ‘Urgent need to look into Killings and Arson that took place in Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State’, which was sponsored by Sen. Tijjani Yahaya Kaura.

Sen. Kaura, in his motion, noted that the unfortunate attack in Zamfara State left 23 people dead in Mallamawa and Tungar Kahau villages.

“Similarly,” he said, “four villages, namely Maikamarimi, Gidan Anna, Mallamawa and Tungar Kahau were burnt to ashes including all their farm produce worth about N385,000,000.

“Zamfara State is surrounded by two major forests of Sugugu & Rugu. Sugugu Forest stretches through Anka, Bakura, Kaura Namoda, Maradun, Maru & Shinkafi L.G.A, while Rugu forest runs through Zurmi, Bimin Magaji & Tsafe LGAs and these forests provide adequate cover for the bandits, making Zamfara State more vulnerable to such attacks than any other State in Northern Nigeria.”

During the long debate, over 15 senators contributed.

Some of the contributors included Ike Ekweremadu, Godswill Akpabio, Dino Melaye, George Akume, Joshua Lidani, Danjuma Goje, Magnus Abe, Kabiru Marafa, Kabiru Gaya, Abdullahi Adamu, Mao Ohuabunwa, Samuel Anyanwu, among others.

Senate President Bukola Saraki, who presided, opened the floodgates, when he lamented that the security apparatus of the country has collapsed. He said the growing number of militia groups springing up in various parts of the country pose serious threats.

He said the Senate would lead the initiative to come up with a new national security design for the country. He said the constitution maybe tinkered with to devolve more powers to states to handle insecurity in their various domains.

He said unlike previous reports, the Senate will take a firm position and come up with its position on how best to address the challenges of insecurity threatening the country.

In Saraki’s words, “There is a collapse of the security infrastructure of this country. The way people carry arms around and things like that mean that the security infrastructure has collapsed. We need to redesign the security architecture.

“The issue of funding of our security agencies is key. We must be able to define what we want to do. We must take the bull by the horn and take the lead on the way forward. This is not a report that will lie. We will bring it here and take a position on the way forward.

“The senators that will be on this committee will have a huge responsibility. We cannot continue like this as a society. People cannot just be dying. In the past, we just allowed things to go bad. What we need to do is to take this as a responsibility. We will announce an adhoc committee on Thursday. If it means amending the constitution or so, we will do it. We have to find a way to solve this problem.”

Ekweremadu, on his part, said the country was still scratching the surface. He said the government is treating the symptoms of insecurity, instead of dealing with the sickness.

He made a strong case for the devolution of powers to states. He said state police must be created to handle security challenges. He also called for more funding of security agencies.

Ekweremadu said: “We are still treating the symptoms of insecurity in this country. We are using panadol to treat malaria. We need to take the issue of insecurity very seriously. We should devolve more powers to states and create state police. We can no longer shy away from this issue.”

Goje disagreed with Ekweremadu’s position. He said the creation of state police will not solve the country’s security challenges. He did not however proffer any solutions.

Akpabio, Abe and other southern Senators backed Ekweremadu. Yaha Abdullahi from Kebbi State, supported his southern counterparts.

After the long debate, Saraki deferred the constitution of the adhoc committee to today, Thursday. The deferment, it was learnt, was to enable him consult widely with the leadership of the Senate on those to me nominated and the terms of reference for the panel.

The adhoc committee, when set up today, Thursday, will be given a specific period to conclude work and report back to the Senate for further legislative action.