Reps invite Buhari over killings, banditry in Nigeria

The House of Representatives on Thursday invited President Muhammadu Buhari, to address the nation on measures taken to tackle rising cases of killings, banditry, armed robbery and kidnappings.

This followed a motion on the urgent “Need for Federal Government’s Intervention on the Ongoing Wanton Killing of Innocent Persons, Destruction of Property, Armed Robbery and Kidnappings by Heavily Armed Bandits Operating Within Safana/Batsari/Dansamu Federal Constituency.”

The motion was moved by Ahmed Dayyabu-Safana (APC-Katsina) at plenary.

Mr Dayyabu-Safana said some villages within his constituency had been serially attacked with many people killed by armed bandits.

He said as an immediate step in containing the evil activities of the heavily armed bandits, the president should urgently declare a state of emergency in the federal constituency.

Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House, said it was necessary to invite the President for an address since the issue of banditry had become national.

The motion was unanimously adopted by members when it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker.

The House, therefore, urged the federal government to deploy the military to the areas under attack to assist the police and other security agencies in flushing out the criminal elements operating in the constituency.

It also called for the declaration of state of emergency in the area while urging the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to urgently provide relief materials to the victims of the attacks.

-NAN