The Nigerian Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki in the wake of the continued killings in Benue state and some other parts of Nigeria, by alleged herdsmen, has directed the immediate suspension of recess by Senate committee on security. The Committee which is chaired by Senate majority leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, is to immediately suspend their recess and submits their work findings to the Senate in order to find a lasting solution to the killings.
The move according to the Senate President, who has earlier expressed worries on the security situation in the country, was to allow the Senate know the possible way forward and stop the menace going on between farmers and herdsmen, in Nigeria, especially in North central region of the country.
Senator Bukola Saraki who condemned the senseless killings, insists the continued killing shows the security agencies in the country lacks what it takes to safeguard lives and properties of Nigerian, saying:
The sad situation in Benue State shows some fundamental faults in our security system. There is a clear failure of intelligence gathering, analysis and response time. Our security agencies must be totally overhauled in terms of equipment, specialization, funding, training and staffing.
This is the reason why in November, the Senate set up a special committee led by Senate Majority Leader, Ahmed Lawan, to work with security agencies to review the entire system and identify what is required in terms of laws, processes, procedure, funding and other necessities for us to have a solid security system that can be pro-active in identifying potential threats, responding to them on time and preventing any breaches.
We are quite aware of the fact that security is the first and prime responsibility of any government. That is why early last week, I directed the Lawan committee to take into consideration the sad developments in Benue and Rivers in their deliberations. Now, we cannot wait for the time they planned to conclude their recommendations. They must fast track their schedule .
They must sit through the weekend and get an interim report ready for the Senate when we resume plenary on Tuesday. We must immediately support the executive in solving this problem. We cannot afford further shedding of blood. We are already moving into the election year with the potential for the aggravation or escalation of these problems. We must decisively resolve the problem of needless blood letting imme