Reps Summon Service Chiefs, Defence Minister, IGP, Others Over Kidnappings

The House of Representatives said on Thursday that kidnapping in the country appeared to have defied solutions as the criminal act kept rising by the day.
It summoned service chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to explain the development.

The service chiefs summoned included the Chief of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen.  Tukur Buratai;  Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; and the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas.

They will appear before the House in company with the Minister of Defence, Brig. Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali (retd.) and the Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Bello-Dambazau (retd.), on Tuesday, next week.

The summons covered the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.)  and the Director General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Lawal Daura.

The House passed a resolution on the summons after debating a motion on rising kidnapping incidents in the country, particularly along the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway and in Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency of Kaduna State.

The motion was moved by the House Minority Whip, Mr. Yakubu Barde.

Only on Tuesday last week, a member of the House from Kano State, Mr. Garba Umar-Durbunde, was abducted and held for almost 48 hours.

He was set free after Umar-Durbunde reportedly coughed out N10m to his abductors.

Barde narrated another recent incident involving “one Mrs. Sara Amos, her son, Jesse, and a family member, Mr. Isaac Michael,” who were kidnapped on June 2.

He disclosed that in their bid to escape, the kidnappers killed “a member of the local vigilance team named Yakubu Adamu.”

Barde added that the kidnappers had made a ransom demand of N20m.

The House noted, “The activities of the kidnappers are becoming nightmarish for the people who can no longer go to their farms freely, with the obvious consequences of shortage of food that will result in hunger and untold hardship.”

On May 25, six students of the Lagos State Model College, Igbonla, Epe, were kidnapped by gunmen.

The six students are Peter Jonah; Isiaq Rahmon; Adebayo George; Judah Agbausi; Pelumi Phillips; and Farouq Yusuf.

The House had passed a similar resolution, asking the IGP to secure the release of the students but they have yet to be set free.

Only on Wednesday, the parents of the students had besieged the office of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, protesting and asking the governor to intervene.