By Udora Orizu
The House of Representatives yesterday called on the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai to urgently establish a battalion of the Nigerian Army at the southern border of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria to help forestall incursions by kidnappers, bandits and miscreants into the campus.
The House also asked the federal government to urgently erect a secure wall round the campuses as has been done for the University of Maiduguri in Maiduguri and the Gwagwalada campuses of the University of Abuja in order to forestall incursions.
It also called on the Inspector General of Police to without further delay establish units of its mobile police personnel at the institution particularly at the Phase 2 segment of its Samaru Campus to ensure security of lives and property at all times.
The lawmakers further mandated its Committees on Tertiary Education and National Security and Intelligence to liaise with the Federal Ministry of Education, the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector General of Police and other relevant agencies of government to implement the above resolutions and report to the House within three weeks.
These resolutions followed the unanimous adoption of a motion of urgent public importance, titled ‘urgent need to address the security threats posed by the phenomenon of banditry (particularly kidnapping and abduction) to the campuses of ABU,’ sponsored by
Hon. Garba Muhammad and three others at plenary.
Moving the motion, Muhammad said that the state of insecurity in Nigeria has been a matter of grave concern to all well-meaning patriots for several years now.
He recalled that recently, the state of insecurity in Kaduna State has degenerated to alarming levels in spite of the well-meaning efforts of government to put an end to it.
He noted that this insecurity has come in the form of armed banditry.
The lawmaker equally recalled the activities of these armed bandits, who have now embarked on a spate of kidnappings and abductions of the Ahmadu Bello University staff and students and other members of the university’s community, particularly at its Samaru Campus and also outside their campuses.
He argued that these dangerous activities have reached perilous levels.
