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Nigeria’s Senate on Saturday summoned the heads of security agencies over the gruesome killings on Christmas Eve in Plateau State.
The Senate said the coordinated nature of the massacre showed that there was a failure of security intelligence.
The Red Chamber, following a motion by Senator Diket Plang (APC, Plateau) during Saturday’s plenary, invited the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Director-General of State Security Services, National Security Adviser, Director General of Nigeria Intelligence Agency and Inspector General of Police over the killings.
The security chiefs are to brief the Senate on the gruesome killings in Plateau State to enable the parliament to take further action.
Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi), said the bandits, numbering about 400, operated freely without hindrance, alleging that the security agents failed to act on the prior information before the attack happened.
He also said there was no synergy among the security agencies.
A former Plateau State governor, Senator Simon Lalong, faulted the claims of the military that the terrain was difficult to access and the attacked communities were too distant from military formations.
He expressed disappointment that despite the various military operations, including Operation Safe Haven, innocent lives are being lost in a gruesome manner
House Urges Army to Establish Military Base in Bokkos LGA
Also, the House of Representatives has called on the Chief of Army Staff to establish a military base in Bokkos Local Government Areas and other volatile areas of Plateau State.
The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion on the urgent need to condemn and investigate the gruesome Christmas Eve killings in some parts of the state.
Moving the motion at the plenary yesterday, Hon. Ahmed Wase noted that findings from the assessment of the ugly incidents in Bokkos LGA revealed that the total number of villages attacked was 12, while 221 houses were set ablaze, 27 motorcycles were burnt, eight vehicles were burnt down and over 79 persons were killed, and 17 deaths were recorded in Barkin-Ladi LGA.
He noted that the death toll from the various attacks at Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Mangu LGAs of Plateau State has surpassed over 200 as of December 29, 2023, with many others seriously injured according to several news sources.
Wase lamented that till this moment, security agencies are yet to identify the perpetrators of these heinous attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives of innocent citizens and destroyed properties worth millions.
He expressed worry that if these dastardly attacks are left unchecked, they would escalate with time and worsen the already volatile security situation on the Plateau;
Wase stressed that further escalation in these killings might lead to a conflagration in the whole of the North-central zone which might spill into other geopolitical zones in the country.
The House, therefore, directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to immediately assess the extent of damage and displacement in attacked communities within the said local government areas to provide necessary relief materials.
It also urged the Inspector General of Police to immediately conduct a detailed investigation into these attacks to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
It also urged the Minister of Defence to initiate a coordinated Joint Security Operation within these local government areas and adjoining towns located in Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, and Nasarawa states to flush out criminals and bandits and prevent them from escaping to other states.
It urged: “The Chief of Air Staff in collaboration with the Chief of Army Staff to provide aerial surveillance and support to flush out criminal hideouts and camps.
“Urge the Department of State Services and Directorate of Military Intelligence to gather intelligence information on the influx, camping, and operations of criminal groups within Bokkos, Barkin-Ladi, Mangu, and other volatile local government areas and adjoining towns and share same with other sister security agencies.
“Urge the Chief of Army Staff to establish military presence/bases in the said local government areas and other volatile areas of Plateau State.”
The House also mandates the House Committee on Police, Defence, Army, and National Intelligence to investigate the root cause of these incessant killings to provide lasting solutions.
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