Senate decries insecurity, backs troop deployment on highways

The Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, has  said the legislative house is not happy about the growing security  challenges facing the country, leading to loss of lives and valuables  in many  states.

 Omo-Agege  met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday and spoke with State House correspondents after the meeting which held behind closed doors.

He  said he only came to greet Buhari.

Speaking on the security issues  in Nigeria, the lawmaker  stated that the matter had been raised on the floor of the Senate a number of times, where  the federal legislators  expressed their disapproval of the current situation.

Omo-Agege added, “We have taken a position on this (insecurity). We are not happy like most Nigerians about what is going on in places, most especially Zamfara State.

“We believe that the head of the security architecture in Zamfara State, being the Commissioner of Police, can do more than they have already done.

“We are encouraging them to do that because Mr President has provided everything that ought to be given to them, everything in terms of funding received, in terms of  the acquisition of  the weapons  that have  been provided for them.

“It is now left for them to justify the positions they hold in Zamfara and other states.”

However, he added that the Senate would support any security initiative introduced by the executive to tackle insecurity, especially banditry, kidnapping and  armed robbery.

He  stated that a recent idea mentioned by  Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo that the Federal Government would deploy soldiers in many locations to confront the criminals was welcomed by the Senate.

Reacting to a question on whether soldiers could be deployed, Omo-Agege said, “Absolutely. On a good day, it is not something we would encourage because as much as possible, you would want to keep the military in the barracks, but because of the exigencies of the moment, we have no choice but to encourage that.

“Nigerians need to be assured of their safety at all times; that is the essence of governance as guaranteed by the constitution. Therefore, as canvassed and indeed ordered by the Vice-President, that we have the army provide security at the checkpoints, if that will go a long way in preventing  kidnapping and banditry, why not?”