Senate Charges Federal Government To Declare Terrorists in Kebbi State Wanted
By: Janet Samuel
A Federal lawmaker, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah of the All Progressives Congress APC, representing Kebbi South has called on the Federal Government to take decisive action against terrorists in Kebbi State and other neighbouring States by declaring their leaders wanted “dead or alive”.
Addressing journalists shortly after presenting a disturbing motion on the state of insecurity and the activities of bandits in Kebbi, Zamfara and Niger States, Ibn Na’Allah said such decisive action has become necessary in addition to current military actions in the areas to restore normalcy.
In his lead debate, the Kebbi State born Senator drew attention to the rising spate of insecurity in Danko/Wasagu and Sakaba Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
“It is apt to state that security agencies need to intensify efforts to secure the lives and property of the good people of the LGA to enable them go about their legitimate businesses
“In some cases, the houses and foodstuffs of the residents are entirely burnt, rendering them homeless and without food to survive”
He said in the last five days dozens of people have been maimed and killed with women both old and young raped and dehumanized.
The Senator expressed shock that the terrorists now conduct their operations during the daytime, explaining that most times with two or more on motorcycles all fully armed and shooting sporadically.
“The terrorists have laid siege on Yar-kuka, Morai, Dankade, to Wadako and even more recently in Bena where 20 people were abducted and Azyu where most of the residents were forced to flee, all under Wasagu chiefdom of Wasaga/Danko LGA of kebbi State”
“What attracts the bandits who have now been declared terrorists by the Federal Government to the affected areas is cattle rustling against speculations that it was as a result of the growing illegal gold mining especially in Zamfara State
“I am further worried that most recently, in particular on the 19h February 2022, the bandits in large numbers passed through Waje, Sabon-layi, Zuttu and Kangon Wasagu, where they killed many people and herds of cattles rustled
“This incidence has increased the number of IDPs in Waje, Ribah, Kanya and Wasagu all in Wasagu/Danko LGA – thus major humanitarian crisis has been created in the zone”
Ibn Na’Allah rnjoined the Federal Government to invoke Section 17 subsection (3) to provide funds to cater for the needs of hundreds of people currently displaced and in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
His motion generated a number of contributions on the floor, as some lawmakers like Senator, Uche Ekwenife(PDP) Anambra Central, asked the Senate to have a rethink about its current stance on State police.
Others attributed the problem of insecurity to the growing army of out-of-school children, practice of early marriages and abject poverty in the North especially, and called on the Federal Government to apply policies to curb the trends.
At the end of an exhausting deliberation, the Senate reached a resolution calling on President Mohammadu Buhari to deploy more operations in the zone and urged the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to as a matter of urgency provide relief materials to the affected areas.
