The senate had an agitated session on Wednesday when the issue of the ongoing herdsmen-related crises across the country came up for debate.
Senator Boroffice Robert Ajayi, representing Ondo North Senatorial district tabled a motion, entitled “General Insecurity in Nigeria”, co-sponsored by other senators, arguing that the time to act was ripe if the country was to be salvaged.
The debate soon became heated as some senators thought it was not appropriate to attribute the crimes of banditry, rape and kidnapping to an ethnic group.
Senator Olujimi Biodun, representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, in her contribution, insisted that the Federal government must act quickly.
She said the level of atrocities being perpetrated by herdsmen called for an urgent response from government, adding that it was deplorable that the federal government continued to display casual approach to the menace.
“We are living in denial on the state of insecurity in the country. And I think that it is necessary we declare a state of emergency on the country’s security like we did with the COVID-19 because insecurity has more casualty figures in Nigeria than COVID-19.”
In his own contribution, Binos Yero, representing Adamawa South Senatorial District suggested that Fulani herdsmen should have been mentioned in the title of the motion because they were responsible for the most of the insecurity being experienced across the country.
Senator Abdulahi Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa State, criticised Oyo State government for evicting Fulani herders over their alleged involvement in kidnapping and banditry in the state.
He said the constitution guarantees Nigerians to live and do business anywhere. He said that asking an ethnic group to leave an area was tantamount to stoking ethnic tension.
However, the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, canvassed a strong contrary opinion and warned that many lawmakers were trivialising a very serious security issue.
“Mr President, distinguished colleagues, nobody was sent packing anywhere, it was criminals that were asked to quit forest reserves.
“All criminals operating in the country must be flushed out,” Abaribe charged.
Also contributing, Senator Michael Opeyemi, representing Ekiti Central, stressed that no one had any legal right to occupy forest reserves or others’ land without proper authorisation.
He canvassed empowerment of the state governors to enable them to tackle insecurity in their jurisdiction.
The Senate urged the executive to among others, implement the national livestock transformation plan which it said is a modern scheme designed to eliminate pastoralism and institute more modern ways of keeping livestock.
