…condemn abduction of 200 Students in Kaduna
The House of Representatives on Tuesday called on the security agencies in the country to immediately track the funding of terrorism even as it condemned the abduction of 200 students in Kaduna
The House said in order to address the root cause of kidnapping, terrorism and other security threats facing the citizens, security agencies must start from terrorism financing.
Adopting a motion of urgent public importance by Hon.Ahmed Munir representing Lere Federal Constituency of Kaduna State in the House of Representatives, the House expressed concerned on the negative effect of the restrictive envelope system, that does not prioritize the actual needs assessment of the security sector when it comes to procurement, planning and recruitment of personnel.
In his lead debate while presenting his motion, Hon. Munir recalled that on March 7, 2024, gunmen stormed Local Education Authority,LEA, Primary School and Government Secondary School in Kuriga Community of Kaduna where over 200 students including teachers were forcibly abducted and moved into the forest unchallenged.
He further explained that two months earlier, the same ugly menace had occurred in the same community where a school principal was killed days earlier while his wife and baby were kidnapped.
According to him, the late teacher’s wife and baby were later rescued in a successful joint security operation on the 3rd of last month.
Munir also said he is aware of an incident that took place on Friday being 8th March 2024, where some gunmen attacked worshippers in a mosque at Angwar Makera, Kwasakwasa Community in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of the same State killing two persons.
“This worrisome trend of violence is sweeping into other parts of the state affecting persons of all religious and ethnic backgrounds.
“The House is concerned that despite the 3.25 trillion Naira allocated to the defense and security sector on drones and other military equipment that could have tracked, located and rescued victims represent 11.8 percent of the national budget in 2024, yet, there has been no respite as bulk of the actions by security personnel are reactionary rather than proactive,’ he said.
According to the lawmaker, in May 2014, the Nigerian Government with an initial ten million dollars, with another additional pledge of ten million dollars from coalition of Nigerian business leaders along with the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown launched the Safe Schools Initiative, whereby the fund is to be managed by the Federal Ministry of Finance, for protection of students and teachers in areas prone to security threats.
On the protection of School, he informed: “the Safe School Initiative” entails a combination of school-based interventions and community interventions to protect schools as well as special measures for at-risk populations.
He, however regretted that a decade has gone by and yet the utilization and impact of the fund is at best questionable.
Meanwhile the lawmaker also observed some of the factors fueling insecurity in Nigeria stating that such includes: illicit drug trade, human trafficking and proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
He called for a coordinated effort encompassing all security apparatus and relevant agencies which include and not limited to Army, Navy, Air force, Police, Civil Defense, Immigration, Customs, NDLEA, DSS, DIA, NIA, Military Intelligence, Financial Intelligence Unit among others to track terrorism funding in the country.
Munir urged the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters, NAPTIP, as well as the Refugee Commission anchored by the Office of the National Security Advicer to start working in silos and draw up a comprehensive plan to address issues of insecurity in Nigeria
Meanwhile the House has also urged the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, to revisit and fully optimize the Acts passed for the National Counter Terrorism Centre as well as The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons to ensure that they serve fully the purpose of their establishment.
The Green Chamber also urged the federal government to absolve the Military and Security establishment from the restrictive envelope budget system to allow them to develop a robust budget that is based on need assessments that reflects security peculiarities and reality on ground.
Consequently, the House finally mandated its Committee on Finance to immediately investigate the utilization and effectiveness of the Safe School Initiative Fund and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
Highpoint of plenary was observation of a one minute silence for those who lost their lives in Kaduna during abduction.
