Senate Summons Service Chiefs Over Rising Killings, Kidnappings

BY GODWIN OBI

The Senate has summoned service chiefs over the spate of insecurity in the country.

This was a unanimous call by the lawmakers after an emergency session on the first legislative day of the year on Tuesday.

The Senate had gone into the executive session after the leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele raised a motion on behalf of the Senators on the security situation in the country.

After about two hours behind closed doors, the Senate then reconvened and resolved to invite the service chiefs next week, over the spate of insecurity in the country.

The service chiefs are the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-General Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, and Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla.

The Senate also adjourned plenary to February 6 to allow lawmakers to participate in Saturday’s by-elections.

From the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja to Mangu in Plateau State as well as other parts of the country, kidnappings and killings have been recorded of late with the latest in the dastard act of criminals being the murder of two traditional rulers in Ekiti State — the Onimojo of Imojo-Ekiti, Oba Olatunde Olusola; and the Elesun of Esun-Ekiti, Oba David Ogunsola. The two monarchs were killed when they were returning from a meeting in Irele-Ekiti on Monday.

Opposition voices like Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have called on the President Bola Tinubu administration to stem the tide of the ugly incidents while the Presidency continues to insist that the President is on top of the situation.