The Senate, yesterday, took steps to unbundle the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
A Bill aimed at amending Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution, (as amended), which deals with the establishment of the police, scaled first reading in the Senate.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who is also Chairman of Senate Ad-hoc Committee on review of the Constitution, is sponsor of the bill.
The proposed constitutional amendment is titled: “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) Bill, 2018 (SB.694) First Reading.”
Ekweremadu said after the adoption of the first reading of the Bill that “the Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution has fulfilled its mandate.
“Now the Bill has been taken for the first time. I am sure that as soon as possible we will take the Second Reading and probably send it to public hearing through the Committee so that we fast-track it as directed by the Senate.”
The plan to amend the Section 214 of the Constitution to accommodate the creation of State Police and Community policing was proposed last week by Ekweremandu.
Its amendment is essentially aimed at creating State and Community Police to complement the efforts of the Nigeria Police Force.
Meanwhile, the Senate, yesterday, decried the gruesome killing of over 40 people by bandits in Sokoto State on Monday.
The condemnation of the killing followed the adoption of a motion on “Gruesome killing of 40 people in Sokoto State by armed bandits.”
The upper chamber resolved to urge the Federal Government to mandate the Air Force and the Police helicopter division to embark on surveillance of Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states with the view of identifying locations and hideouts of the bandits and deal with them decisively;
It also urged the Inspector General of Police (lGP) through the commissioner of police in the three states to set up a special squad to mop up the zone in order to get rid of the armed bandits.
It called for synergy between the Department of State Service, the police and the armed forces with the view of sharing intelligence and strategies to embark upon in getting rid of the armed bandits;;
The motion was sponsored by Senators Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) and Senator Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto North).
In his lead debate, Aliero noted with sadness the gruesome and unprecedented killing of innocent and defenseless people in Sokoto by armed bandits on Monday morning at Dogonyero in Candi District in Raba Local government Area of Sokoto State.
He expressed concerned that “these armed bandits are operating in Zamfara forest where they carry nefarious and barbaric killing of innocent people over a period of two years.”
He said that the bandits moved with motorcycles that carry up to three people numbering about thirty motorcycles in all, meaning that the armed bandits were up to 90;
Aliero expressed worry that “the armed bandits sent two people to the village to buy food for them and the villagers observed that the emissaries were armed and they were interrogated by the villagers and found to be armed bandits similar to the ones operating in Zamfara. The villagers apprehended and executed the two emissaries.”
He further noted that “the armed bandits sent advance notice to the villagers that they were coming to retaliate the killing of their people.”
He said “The chairman of the local government and the village head alerted the law enforcement agencies on this notice of the bandits. Security was provided for a period of 5days after which they were withdrawn, immediately the security agencies were withdrawn, the armed bandits moved in and started killing indiscriminately using A1017 riffles.
“The situation now is that most of the villagers have left their homes out of fear and so many are still stranded in the bush, not to mention the injured ones still at the hospital and others rendered homeless.”
Most of the senators who contributed to the motion asked the Federal Government to take steps to protect lives and property in the country.
Meanwhile, the death toll from raids by suspected cattle thieves in northwest Nigeria has risen from 26 to 32, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said, yesterday.
“The fatalities have increased to 32, with the recovery of six more bodies by rescue teams,” NEMA Coordinator for Sokoto State, Suleiman Kadir told newsmen.
Bandits on motorcycles attacked several villages on both sides of the border between Sokoto and Zamfara states on Monday and Tuesday, shooting residents, burning homes and stealing cows.
Kadir said there were now some 2,000 people made homeless by the violence — double the number reported on Wednesday.
Two women were also kidnapped during the raids.
Police have said five villages were razed in the attacks — two in the Rabah district of Sokoto and three in Zamfara, where kidnapping and cattle rustling gangs are known to operate.
Meanwhile, six people were killed in violent clashes between ethnic Fulani herdsmen and Bachama farmers in Adamawa State.
The unrest happened late on Monday in the neighbouring Demsa and Numan communities, which have seen repeated killings and reprisals in recent months.
Adamawa police spokesman, Othman Abubakar said: “The dead included two herdsmen and four farmers.”