By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the Federal Government to strengthen security operations across the country and take appropriate measures to protect military personnel and other civilians, given renewed attacks by terror groups across the country.
The House position followed the resolution by the members of the House who alleged foreign involvement in recent attacks on communities in the north eastern part of the country by groups suspected to be members of Boko Haram insurgents.
Adopting a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Ahmed Satomi (APC, Borno), the House asked the government to conduct a thorough review of security measures in military installations to prevent similar incidents.
The House resolved to investigate the cause of the recent fire incident at Giwa Barracks armoury, while also asking the government to provide support and compensation to the families of soldiers affected by these incidents.
Moving to the motion, Satomi expressed concern about the escalating attacks on military formations in Borno and Yobe states, adding that Boko Haram have escalated their attacks on several military formations within these two months, with several soldiers and civilians killed in the process.
He said further that Giwa Barrack was severely attacked by Boko Haram, and the surrounding civilian settlement continues to be at risk concern, saying “the recent surge in Boko Haram attacks on military formations is deeply alarming, and also the bravery and sacrifice of our military personnel are being tested by these relentless assaults.
Contributing to the debate on the Boko Haram resurgence in the North East and the killing of Nigerians, Zainab Gimba (APC, Borno) alleged that among members of the Boko Haram groups that invaded military formations in the North East were some white machineries.
Gimba also draw attention to the problem likely to be caused by the exit of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali from, adding that this is likely to create a border crisis that may be detrimental to the whole nation.
Supporting the claim of Gimba of the presence of foreign machineries among the resulting Boko Haram group, Lawal Shettima Ali (APC, Yobe) draw attention to the high-calibre weapons being used, saying something urgent needs to be done.
Chairman of the House Committee on Navy, Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, lamented that despite the huge investment by the government in the purchase of military hardware for the security agencies, Boko Haram could invade the barracks and make away with equipment meant for the Army.
He said armoured tanks and other military weapons worth trillions of naira were taken away by enemies of the state and called for decisive action to address the situation.
He said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should hold the heads of security agencies accountable for the taxpayers’ money used to purchase the arms for them, which has been “donated to the enemies of the state”.
Gagdi said such action is unacceptable given the fact that Nigerians are being killed daily across the country, adding that the National Assembly must rise to the occasion and call the security agencies to account for the funds they have been given.
He said, “We must find a way of bringing insecurity to check. Until we feel the government knows what we should tell them and they respond the way they are supposed to respond and not with press statements, we must continue to do the needful.”
Ahmed Jaha Babawo (APC, Borno) also expressed concern over the Boko Haram resurgence, saying they were using weapons such as drones and heavy artillery against the Nigerian military.
“They are more armed than the Nigerian Army and use more sophisticated weapons. Boko Haram is gradually coming back and in a more dangerous way than we had before. We must act now before we get back to the era when we lost about 22 local government areas to them.
“The Nigerian military doesn’t have the personnel and weapons to face these people. We should do a proper oversight of the budget we pass for security and not be complacent.”
Babajimi Benson (APC, Lagos) said it is unfortunate that the huge investment by the present government in the security of the nation has not yielded positive results.
He said, “The Presidency has spent so much on security without commensurate results. On many occasions, the President has put on the front burner the issue of state Police, local government autonomy, among others. Unfortunately, this has not been achieved.
Minority Whip of the House, Ali Isa (PDP, Gombe) said the President should take serious action on the security and welfare of the Nigerian people, saying “let the government do the right thing and ensure that the lives of Nigerians are protected”.
