The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday asked the Federal Government to redouble its anti-terrorism war by changing to strategies that would stop the killing of innocent children and other victims by members of the Boko Haram sect.
He said if the killers had resolved not to allow Nigerians live in peace, the government must not let them sleep too.
Tambuwal suggested that it might be time to revisit the clamour for state police.
In a speech entitled, “One massacre too many”, Tambuwal recalled with pain, the February 25 massacre of 59 students of the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State, by the sect and said the situation required a change of tactics by security agencies.
The House had declared Tuesday a day to grieve over the murder of the students and all other victims of Boko Haram attacks.
Members had reconvened for plenary after staying away for two weeks to allow standing committees work on the details of the 2014 budget.
However, the session was dedicated to the victims of terror attacks, where members observed a minute’s silence for the repose of their souls.
The session started with the Majority Leader, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, moving a motion to mourn the killings.
Part of her motion reads, “That this House do hold a special session to deliberate on the incessant killings and maiming of people and residents of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe by Boko Haram insurgents.”
As Tambuwal tried to imagine the anguish of the defenceless schoolchildren, the speaker described February 25 as a “day that will live in infamy in the history of this nation.”
Tambuwal said, “When innocent, harmless and defenseless women and children become the targets of these heartless murderous bandits; when the lives of sleeping children are so callously snuffed out, it becomes clear that these agents of terror have murdered sleep and they henceforth deserve none.
“Whatever grievances the terrorists harbor against the government of Nigeria, Nigeria’s innocent children have nothing to do with it. Nigeria’s children bear no responsibility for either policy making or policy implementation in Nigeria.
“It is therefore an act of cowardice worthy of ringing condemnation to target the children, to strike at those who are not only innocent but are also unable to strike back or defend themselves. There can be no reason, no justification and no acceptable excuse for this act of mindless brutality.
“Whatever message the terrorists set out to send to the Nigerian government has been drowned out by the cries for justice by the blood of these innocent martyrs.
“Today is not a day to apportion blames. It is a day for the expression of our sense of personal and national loss. But it is also a day for us to look for concrete solutions.”
As part of its support for the search for solutions, Tambuwal noted that the House had passed over 24 resolutions on national security, voted “huge sums” for security agencies and amended the Anti-terrorism Act, 2011 to give more powers to security agencies.
To get positive results, Tambuwal suggested that government should look in the way of strengthening intelligence gathering by security agencies, encouraging the Nigeria police to embrace community policing and creating a role for traditional rulers in this regard.
He said, “What about integrating local security structures into the regular security windows of the Nigerian Police Force with the Federal, State and Local governments supporting them with necessary resources?
“Is it perhaps time for us to revisit the idea of State Police?
“How do we develop an institutional framework for securing the land through a neighborhood audit where a tab is kept on every member and every housing structure whether completed or uncompleted?”
However, our correspondent observes that state police is no longer an item on the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution by the House, as the proposal had earlier been rejected overwhelmingly by lawmakers.
There were no further debate after the speaker’ speech. Members simply adjourned plenary for another one week.
The House explained that the one week was to give some committees still working on the 2014 budget more time to conclude their meetings with Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
The plenary will reconvene on March 18.
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