The Senate on Wednesday expressed concern over the rising spate of kidnapping and armed robbery in the South-East and South-South and called for a state of emergency in the two geopolitical zones.
It made the call against the backdrop of the kidnapping of four journalists and their driver in Abia State on Sunday.
The journalists – Mr. Wahab Oba, Mr. Sylva Okereke, Mr. Sola Oyeyipo and Mr. Adolphus Okonkwo — were returning from the Nigerian Union of Journalists National Executive Committee meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, when they were kidnapped along with their driver, Mr. Azeez Abdulrauf, in Umuafor Ukwu, Obingwa Local Government Area.
Considering a motion by Senator Anthony Manzo and 18 others on the state of insecurity in the country, the Senate decried the rising rate of assassinations and kidnapping in the South-South and the South-East.
It charged the security agencies to fish out those behind the kidnapping of the journalists and their driver.
The President of the Senate, Mr. David Mark, while summing up the debates on the motion, said that the situation had turned Nigeria into a jungle that required an emergency attention.
Mark said,“Since the Federal Government has recently declared a state of emergency in the power sector, we should declare a state of emergency in all these areas where we have armed robbery and kidnapping.”
He, however, clarified that there were misconceptions on the declaration of a state of emergency, saying that it did not necessarily mean that the governors of the states concerned should be removed.
The President of the Senate also noted that security agencies had been treating kidnappers with kid gloves even when the situation demanded a hard stance.
Mark said, “Those who are involved must be handled in such a way that they will never contemplate it in their lives again, because at the moment they are being handled with kid gloves. People are not serious about the way they are being handled.
“Presently, it is simply a jungle environment and the rule must change to conform with those who operate in the jungle and I believe that the security agencies should be able to do that.”
He also flayed the argument that unemployment had significantly contributed to the rising crime level in the two zones, saying that it (unemployment) also existed in other parts of the country where kidnapping is not rampant.
Mark said, “It may be the reality, but there is no where in the world where everybody is employed by the government. There are causes; one of them is unemployment; but the way in which it (kidnapping) is being taken in the South-East and the South-South cannot be justified. ”
He said that the police commissioners in states where kidnapping was high should consider themselves to have failed.
Mark said, “There is no reason why a commissioner of police should be sitting on his seat if there is kidnapping on a daily basis in his or her state. It means he or she has failed. The commissioners of police in the states should be told in very clear terms that they failed to handle the situation.
“None of us here can go and do their jobs for them ; that is what they are paid to do. With the way we are going now, all these excuses in my view are not tenable. Really they have failed us.
“If a man fails, he should not remain in his seat for us to be getting excuses from him. I also believe that, at every level, everybody must be involved; the federal, state and local governments.”
He noted that policemen at roadblocks were poorly equipped to deal with armed robbers and kidnappers.
According to Mark, kidnapping and armed robberies could be worse than malaria and HIV/AIDS, if left unchecked.
The Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, suggested that the police should be decentralised to make way for local police outfits.
“We must go back to the old days when each locality had its kind of police. We must have state and local police,” he said.
The Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), said the situation in the country was becoming worrisome, adding that kidnappers were part of the community and so should be fished out.
He also warned that politicians should exercise restraint in the manner they conducted themselves.
Senator Olorunibe Mamora, while making his contribution, said unemployment must be tackled as a measure to addressing the problems.
He also suggested that Nigeria should return to community policing and state police.
In taking the prayers of the motion, the Senate resolved to urge the security services to fish out the people behind the recent kidnapping of the journalists and bring them to justice.
It also resolved to condemn in strong terms, the perennial and escalating state of insecurity across the country. It made an additional prayer to hold a summit on national security under the office of the President of the Senate to fashion out ways of dealing with the problems of kidnapping in the country.
By Oluwole Josiah and Chukwudi Akasike
It made the call against the backdrop of the kidnapping of four journalists and their driver in Abia State on Sunday.
The journalists – Mr. Wahab Oba, Mr. Sylva Okereke, Mr. Sola Oyeyipo and Mr. Adolphus Okonkwo — were returning from the Nigerian Union of Journalists National Executive Committee meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, when they were kidnapped along with their driver, Mr. Azeez Abdulrauf, in Umuafor Ukwu, Obingwa Local Government Area.
Considering a motion by Senator Anthony Manzo and 18 others on the state of insecurity in the country, the Senate decried the rising rate of assassinations and kidnapping in the South-South and the South-East.
It charged the security agencies to fish out those behind the kidnapping of the journalists and their driver.
The President of the Senate, Mr. David Mark, while summing up the debates on the motion, said that the situation had turned Nigeria into a jungle that required an emergency attention.
Mark said,“Since the Federal Government has recently declared a state of emergency in the power sector, we should declare a state of emergency in all these areas where we have armed robbery and kidnapping.”
He, however, clarified that there were misconceptions on the declaration of a state of emergency, saying that it did not necessarily mean that the governors of the states concerned should be removed.
The President of the Senate also noted that security agencies had been treating kidnappers with kid gloves even when the situation demanded a hard stance.
Mark said, “Those who are involved must be handled in such a way that they will never contemplate it in their lives again, because at the moment they are being handled with kid gloves. People are not serious about the way they are being handled.
“Presently, it is simply a jungle environment and the rule must change to conform with those who operate in the jungle and I believe that the security agencies should be able to do that.”
He also flayed the argument that unemployment had significantly contributed to the rising crime level in the two zones, saying that it (unemployment) also existed in other parts of the country where kidnapping is not rampant.
Mark said, “It may be the reality, but there is no where in the world where everybody is employed by the government. There are causes; one of them is unemployment; but the way in which it (kidnapping) is being taken in the South-East and the South-South cannot be justified. ”
He said that the police commissioners in states where kidnapping was high should consider themselves to have failed.
Mark said, “There is no reason why a commissioner of police should be sitting on his seat if there is kidnapping on a daily basis in his or her state. It means he or she has failed. The commissioners of police in the states should be told in very clear terms that they failed to handle the situation.
“None of us here can go and do their jobs for them ; that is what they are paid to do. With the way we are going now, all these excuses in my view are not tenable. Really they have failed us.
“If a man fails, he should not remain in his seat for us to be getting excuses from him. I also believe that, at every level, everybody must be involved; the federal, state and local governments.”
He noted that policemen at roadblocks were poorly equipped to deal with armed robbers and kidnappers.
According to Mark, kidnapping and armed robberies could be worse than malaria and HIV/AIDS, if left unchecked.
The Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, suggested that the police should be decentralised to make way for local police outfits.
“We must go back to the old days when each locality had its kind of police. We must have state and local police,” he said.
The Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), said the situation in the country was becoming worrisome, adding that kidnappers were part of the community and so should be fished out.
He also warned that politicians should exercise restraint in the manner they conducted themselves.
Senator Olorunibe Mamora, while making his contribution, said unemployment must be tackled as a measure to addressing the problems.
He also suggested that Nigeria should return to community policing and state police.
In taking the prayers of the motion, the Senate resolved to urge the security services to fish out the people behind the recent kidnapping of the journalists and bring them to justice.
It also resolved to condemn in strong terms, the perennial and escalating state of insecurity across the country. It made an additional prayer to hold a summit on national security under the office of the President of the Senate to fashion out ways of dealing with the problems of kidnapping in the country.
By Oluwole Josiah and Chukwudi Akasike
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