By Ezrel Tabiowo
Abuja
Senate yesterday summoned the Nation’s Security Chiefs to appear before it to brief the upper chamber on efforts being made to put an end to killings being carried out in remote communities across the country by Fulani herdsmen.
This was just as the Southeast Senate caucus called for a meeting of Southeast and South-south governors with members of the national and state assemblies from the region for a summit.
The upper legislative chamber also set up a 6-man ad-hoc committee under the chairmanship of the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume (APC Borno South), to carry out thorough investigation of recent attacks of the herdsmen and possible way out of the menace.
Members of the ad-hoc committee are Senators Isiaka Adeleke (APC Osun West) to represent Southwest, Mao Ohunbunwa (PDP Abia North) for Southeast and Abdullahi Adamu (APC Nasarawa West) for North-Central.
Others are Senator Shehu Sani (APC Kaduna Central) for North West and Ben Bruce (PDP Bayelsa East), for South-South.
These were sequel to a motion moved and debated to that effect on the floor of the Senate yesterday.
In the motion sponsored by Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP Enugu North), Senate bemoaned the horrendous carnage the herdsmen recently carried out in Nimbo community of Uzo-Uwani local government area of Enugu state, where about 38 people were gruesomely murdered and over 100 others severely injured aside countless number of houses and other property destroyed.
It declared that such happenings were unacceptable and further resolved, among others: “That security agencies in the country should improve their intelligence gathering capabilities for them to be proactive rather than reactive to the incessant threats to internal security in the country.
“Urged security agencies to enforce the laws on arms bearing by unauthorised persons in the country and called on the Nigerian Police to expedite action on the establishment of a Rapid Response Police Unit around the communities where these attacks take place”.
