Senate Calls For National Security Summit
The Senate on Tuesday called for immediate convocation of a National Security Summit to address insecurity in the country.
This following a point of order raised by Sen. Ayo Akinyelure (APC-Ondo), over the killing of one her constituents, Mrs Funke Olakunrin.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Olakunrin, daughter of Pa Reuben Fasoranti, a leader of Afenifere Group, was shot dead by gunmen along Akure-Ore in Ondo State on Friday.
Akinyelure expressed concern over the killing and similar ones, which he described as โincreasing and incessant murder of innocent Nigerians by gunmen along major highways in the country.โ
He also cautioned that if immediate actions were not taken, the development might lead to ethno-religious crises, especially in the Southern part of the country.
While urging the Senate to observe a minute silence in memory of the deceased and others who died in similar circumstances, he said attention of the Federal Government should be drawn to the situation.
Also, Sen. Tolu Odebiyi (APC-Ogun), called on the Senate as an institution to sit down with the presidency and the security formations in a meeting to take immediate action.
โWe have to demand for an action by security forces and the presidency.
โThereโs nothing we do here that is safe if we donโt get our security right. We canโt be coming here everyday, mourning and observing one minute silence when Nigerians are being killed.
โAs a Senate, we should send a delegation to meet with the presidency and the security forces to address what is happening.โ
However, the Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate, Sen. Ajayi Boroface (APC-Ondo), urged his colleagues to be cautious about linking a particular tribe as perpetrators of the attacks.
โWe should approach this matter maturely and encourage the federal government to improve on the state of security.
โWe should not link a particular tribe with the killings, as being observed in the social media. Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Fulani people have all been killed,โ he said.
The President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, on his submission equally lamented the situation, which he said was being felt across the country.
He, therefore, said stakeholders should immediately converge in a robust national security summit to discuss and address the situation.
โThe security situation is all over the country. It is very unfortunate just like all our colleagues have said in their contributions.
โWe should have one national security summit on this. The summit should be all-encompassing and all-inclusive, involving other arms of government and various security formations,โ he said.
Meanwhile, the Senate in its resolution โunequivocallyโ condemned the killings, calling on the Inspector General of Police (I-G) to extend his dragnet to fish out the perpetrators.
