Our security architecture has collapsed – Senate

Senators yesterday reflected on the rising insecurity across the country, concluding that the security architecture has collapsed.

Senators spoke during the debate on a motion on the killings in Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State, sponsored by Senator Tijjani Kaura (APC, Zamfara) and seconded by Senator Ahmed Sani Yarima (APC, Zamfara).

The lawmakers who debated the rising insecurity for over two hours resolved to constitute a special ad-hoc committee to review the current security infrastructure in consultation with security agencies and come up with the way forward.

Speaking on the challenge, Senator Kabiru Marafa (APC, Zamfara) said the situation has forced youth to bear arms even in Gusau the state capital.

“More worrisome is the proliferation of arms. Our youth are forced to bear arms, you see people bearing arms without hindrance. Unless something is done, I foresee that axis becoming heavily militarised,” he said.

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu said the insecurity has assumed a national dimension threatening the economic development of the country.

Calling for the decentralization of the country’s police, Ekweremadu said Benue people are facing challenge over the grazing law and threats by the Niger Delta Avengers to resume attacks on oil installations.

“Centralised police is not helping matters. Senator Marafa just said people are bearing arms in Zamfara. Why won’t they, when you have 350,000 policemen for 170 million Nigerians. We must decentralise the police and address the insufficiency,” he said.

Also, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi (APC, Kebbi) said the rising insecurity was as a result of the total collapse of the country’s security architecture.

Abdullahi who was a member of presidential committee on National security during former president Olusegun Obasanjo called for the review of the entire architecture.

“The entire national security architecture in the country has collapsed. Local fire is quenched locally. Intelligence must be strengthened. We have to sit down, look at it and review the entire architecture based on our needs,” he said.

Citing Daily Trust report, Senator Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe) said aside Boko Haram, a lot of people are being killed by ethnic militia.

“A lot of Fulani women and children were slaughtered, according to newspapers by Bachama militia. These kinds of killings are alien to us. I’m not against state police but we must go beyond that. People that were killed yesterday (Tuesday) were not killed by people outside Numan. So, if we have state police, they might take side,” he said.

For his part, Senator James Manager (PDP, Delta) said: “Throughout the country, we have similar cases like that of Zamfara State. Something has to be done. Every day we observe a one minute silence for the departed, the departed are too many.”

Senator Magnus Abe (APC, Rivers) threw his weight behind the total overhauling of the country’s security architecture, saying “Otherwise we will continue to have this kind of conversion.”