Senate summons Pantami over use of communication devices by Boko Haram, kidnappers

TRACKING____The Senate has mandated its Committees on Legislative Compliance and Communications to invite the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, and impress on him the need to implement the resolutions of the Senate regarding security related to the mandate of his ministry.

This is coming against the backdrop of a point of order by Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP, Taraba South), who expressed concern that bandits, terrorists, and kidnappers were using mobile phones to negotiate for ransoms and getting away with it.

The decision was reached in a resolution, which followed the consideration of a motion on the spate of growing insecurity in Nigeria.

Bwacha, rising under Order 42 and 52 of the Senate Rules, noted that “the rate of insecurity in Nigeria has not only increased astronomically but has reached a melting point.”

According to the lawmaker, the challenge has manifested in kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery, assassination, and other criminal activities in the country.

“The assassination of Nasarawa State APC Chairman and other high profile cases are still fresh in our memories. A Chinese national was recently abducted in my community, his whereabouts are still unknown,” Bwacha lamented.

He further expressed worry that “there is growing suspicion of the complicity of officials of the state saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and property of the citizens, but compromised in the process.”

“Senate is concerned that the confidence between the protected and the protector is being increasingly eroded resulting to the breakdown of law and order as demonstrated in the #EndSARS protest, which was subsequently hijacked by miscreants,” he added.

MEANWHILE, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai has said that the poor state of roads is hampering the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency.

According to him, the dilapidated washed off roads, which were built 40 years ago, are sited in Borno and Adamawa states.

The over a decade long insurgency has also claimed 36,000 lives with property worth $9.2 billion (about N3.42 trillion) in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states.

Buratai said: “Let me use this opportunity to express how bad roads in areas of military operations are affecting our quick responses to terrorists’ attacks and ambushes.”
He noted that the insurgents, cashed in on the delays in responses to attacks and ambushes along four dilapidated roads in Borno.

Buratai listed the affected roads to include the 394-kilometre Maiduguri-Jakana, Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu, Maiduguri-Monguno, and Maiduguri-Bama-Gwoza roads.