Date: 2018-04-16

An All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives member, Mr. Ahman Pategi, has lamented that his party and President Muhammadu Buhari have failed to achieve security of lives and properties of Nigerians which was one of their cardinal promises while seeking for power in 2015.

Pategi, from Kwara State, stated this at the plenary of the House presided over by Speaker Yakubu Dogara on Thursday, while contributing to a motion raised by another member from Kwara, Mr. Oluyonu Tokpe.

Tokpe had raised the robbery attacks on commercial banks, police station and people in Offa, Kwara State as a matter of urgent public importance, calling on the Federal Government to beef up security in the entire Southern senatorial district in Kwara State.

Tokpe had expressed worries over how about 30 armed robbers invaded Offa in broad daylight, shot at anything on sight, raided at least four commercial banks and killed several policemen and other persons.

"Mr. Speaker, they attacked police stations, killed the policemen; they shot at our people and proceeded to attack banks freely without response from any quarters. As we speak, all the banks in Kwara-South are shut down. You can imagine the implication on the economy and business of the state.

"If armed robbers can enter a town, drive in a convoy of about 10 vehicles, sack a police station and raid banks, it calls for an urgent enquiry," he said.

In his contribution to the motion, Pategi told the House that from the eyewitnesses' accounts, the robbers operated for more than one and a half hours.

He then said, "We need to check the entire security apparatus of our country. These people killed eight policemen and anyone they saw, they shot and killed the person. This is quite disturbing, to say the least.

"Yes, I am a member of the All Progressives Congress. One of the three things the party and Mr. President promised Nigerians in 2015 was security. Today, we are not achieving it and we must confront this reality and tackle the security issues all over the country."

Also in support of the motion, Deputy Speaker Yussuff Lasun, noted that the pattern of the attacks indicated that there might be something more to it.

He added, "This was exactly the same way Boko Haram started and became a problem the country is battling till today."

Another member, the chairman, House Committee on Works, Mr. Toby Okechukwu, said that it was due to sick security system which is currently evident in Nigeria that warranted the increasing calls for Nigerians to defend themselves.

"Gen. T.Y. Danjuma has made this call; just days ago, the Governor of Benue State (Samuel Ortom) called for self-help; in Birnin Gwari, the emir has asked people to defend themselves; it is happening everywhere.

"In a country where people are calling for self-help, what it means is that the conventional or official security system is dysfunctional. When a state is unable to provide security, something must give way. The role of government is to find solutions to crises and insecurity. The role of government is not to find faults or resort to blame-game. If a government wants to continue to pass blame, then it must give way."

The motion was thereafter passed in a unanimous voice vote.