Lawmakers Urge Service Chiefs to End Incessant Killings on Highways

Lawmakers Urge Service Chiefs to End Incessant Killings on Highways

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The House of Representatives at plenary yesterday urged the Service Chiefs to bring to an end, the incessant attacks and kidnapping of Nigerians by bandits on the highways by bandits.

The resolution was sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Hon. Abubakar Nalaraba (APC-Nasarawa).

Moving the motion, Nalaraba said there was need to curtail the recent upsurge of attacks on Nigerian roads particularly the Kaduna-Abuja road.

He recalled that last Sunday, at about 2 p.m. there was an attack on the road and many travelers were kidnapped and in the process a former governorship aspirant was killed among other Nigerians.

He also recalled that an unspecified number of Nigerians were abducted and their vehicles destroyed on Monday, November 22nd and Tuesday 23rd of November by bandits on the same highway.

These bandits, according to him have continued to block roads to enable them carry out their planned attacks, adding that these attacks have caused a lot of panic in the hearts of Nigerians plying that road.

In his submission, Hon. Nicholas Ossai (PDP-Delta) recalled that in 2019, the federal government invested $1billion on security without recourse to the National Assembly.

He said in 2020, cases were made for security and lots of monies were appropriated for it yet many lives were being lost unannounced.

According to him, if Nigerians could not freely move to Kaduna up to Kano and to other northern states where food is produced, there was no need for lawmakers to be sitting in the chambers.

He therefore recommended that the House Committees on Police, Army, Navy, Air Force, Defence and other security agencies to be briefing the house monthly on security issues.

Adopting the motion, the House resolved that the joint committees on security should brief the principal officers monthly and the general house quarterly on the security situation and efforts being made to curb the menace.

Also at the plenary, the lawmakers resolved to probe non-implementation of the presidential youth empowerment scheme.

The lawmakers’ resolution was sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Alhaji Gudaji Kazaure.

Kazaure, had while moving the motion noted that President Muhammadu Buhari launched the Empowerment Scheme in October last year, with the sole aimed of creating opportunities to 774,000 youths to reduce unemployment among the local populace.

He said the Scheme was designed to allow the literate, semi-literate and non-literate population to learn and improve their capacity, adding that since its inauguration, the Scheme is yet to be implemented in Jigawa State despite thousands of applications by youths.

The lawmaker, also called on the house to invite the Co-coordinator of the Scheme and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth and Students Affairs to explain to Nigerians reasons for the non-implementation of the Scheme despite the Presidential directives.

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