By Deji Elumoye
The President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, has flayed the reported extra judicial killing of 18 people by security agents in the course of enforcing the COVID-19 lockdown ordered by the federal government.
Lawan, in a statement on Friday, condemned in strong terms the cases of extra-judicial killings by security agents as reported by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the course of the enforcement of the lockdown ordered in parts of the country to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
He said he was saddened by the report by the NHRC that 18 persons were killed by high-handed security officers tasked to enforce the stay-at-home directives.
According to him, extra-judicial killings, in whatever guise, should be discouraged in the society and called for a thorough investigation of the cases with those indicted to be promptly brought to book.
He said: “Life is sacred. It is a tragedy that those asked to enforce compliance with emergency measures adopted for public safety are now being accused of responsibility for needless and totally avoidable deaths of citizens.”
The Senate President said any officer found culpable of unprofessional use of weapons should, as a standard practice, be made to face prosecution.
He also commiserated with the victims of the fire incident that occurred on Thursday at a camp housing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Ngala, Borno State.
While mourning the 14 people who lost their lives and sympathised with those injured in the inferno, the Senate President also commiserated with the government and people of Borno State over the tragic incident.
Lawan called on relevant authorities to investigate the incident with a view to averting a re-occurrence.
