The mindless killings and destruction that rocked Garkida town in Combi Local Government Area in Adamawa State last Friday resonated in the Senate as many continue to worry over increased insurgent activities that seem to target minority tribes and groups.
Many even insist that usually reticent Christian homes and places of worship appeared to be targets, just late Rev. Lawal Andimi was the target of the onslaught of the attack on Michika Local Government Area.
The worrisome pattern was also the worry of the Senator representing the troubled Adamawa Central District, Aishatu Ahmed when she raised the issue on the floor of the Upper House of the National Assembly.
Ahmed, while coming under a point of order on matter of urgent public importance, bemoaned attacks on Gombi Local Government Area the insurgent Boko Haram group armed with seven gun-trucks and motorcycles on February 21, 2020.
According to the lawmaker, three soldiers were killed in the dastardly attacks, while properties worth millions of naira were burnt or destroyed including: public hospital, school, telecommunication facilities, Police stations and churches.
She added that the Garkida crises, which has led to the destruction of lives and propriety, was planned by insurgents to have a religious connotation considering that churches and residences of some prominent indigenes were burnt, an act aimed at destroying the foundation of peaceful co-existence among Garkida community and Adamawa state as a whole.
The lawmaker warned, “As a result of this, the urgent need to take more drastic actions in the face of such affront on the national security architecture, the region and indeed the entire nation is long overdue.
“In view of the enormity of the situation, the Federal Government needs to put more innovative measures in place to frontally confront these challenges.”
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, disclosed that the Senate may next week consider the report of an Ad-Hoc Committee on security challenges with a view to finding solutions to Nigeria’s security problems.
The Senate had on January 29, 2020, set up the Ad-Hoc Committee chaired by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, to interface with the security agencies on the level of insecurity in the country and report back to the upper chamber within two weeks.
According to Lawan, the Senate will engage with the executive arm of government on the resolutions of the Ad-Hoc Committee as contained in its report.
He added that the Upper Chamber will also work closely with the House of Representatives and Nigerian citizens towards ensuring that solutions are found to the lingering security problems in the country.
He said, “The Senate discussed and debated so much on the insecurity in the country and set up an Ad-Hoc Committee under the leadership of the Senate Leader.
“The Committee is working very hard, we are trying to look for solutions to the insecurity bedeviling the country. We are not going to rest on our oars until we are able to provide solutions.
“This is the essence of our being in government. Of course, it will require that we work with the House of Representatives and the Executive, as well as the citizens because I believe that the citizens have to be taken into confidence in the fight against insecurity.
“So, we will not waste any time, as soon as the report is ready, I believe by next week, probably the report will be ready. We are going to look at the report of the Ad-Hoc Committee and take those important and very viable resolutions, and engage with the executive arm of government.
“I think we are on the same page with the executive arm of government, everybody is worried, and we will do whatever it takes, and I normally say, if we have to invest so much money, so be it, because there’s nothing more important than life, even infrastructure.
“Life is more important than anything, so we need to protect the lives of Nigerians who have sent us here,” Lawan added.
The Senate in a three-point resolution urged the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, to re-establish a military command base in Garkida and also all major settlements bordering the Sambisa forrest.
The Upper Chamber called on the North East Development Commission to immediately embark on rehabilitation of public and religious institutions destroyed and provide assistance to other individuals affected.
The Senate also urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to urgently assess the extent of damage and provide relief materials immediately to Garkida community.