SAN FRANCISCO, April 25, (THEWILL) – The Senate has invited the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, for a briefing over the spate of kidnappings across Nigeria.
The IGP’s invitation is one of the many resolutions made after a deliberation on a motion on the “senseless killing of a Briton and the abduction of three others in a Holiday Resort in Kaduna State by armed bandits” sponsored by Shehu Sani (PRP, Kaduna Central).
A Briton, Faye Mooney, and Matthew Oguche, a Nigerian training assistant with the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), were killed in Kajuru Castle, a recreational location in Kaduna State last week while three others were kidnapped.
Leading the debate, Sani said attacks on individuals, houses, and villages have become too many and not one suspect has been prosecuted for the crime.
He expressed worry that the bandits tend to be gaining more courage to perpetuate their acts “due to their acclaimed superior firepower.”
In his remark, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said the recent happenings were not the first time a non-Nigerian (especially construction/aid workers) was kidnapped in the country.
“This nation’s security has been breached. Tourists who have plans of coming to Nigeria will now think twice before coming. And this is affecting our economy.
“It is important to take this issue seriously in order to protect our national image. Even if it means declaring a state of emergency in affected states, so be it,” Ekweremadu said.
It was during the resolutions that Ekweremadu suggested that the IGP be invited.
“Mr President, since we now have a new IGP – as the other one was uninterested in talking to us, let us invite him to give a holistic view of the state of kidnapping across the country with a view to finding a lasting solution,” he said.
This prayer was seconded and unanimously adopted.
The Senate also resolved to urge security agencies to immediately deploy the use of drones and interceptors in tracking kidnappers asking for ransom.
