INSECURITY: Senate Demands Resignation Of Service Chiefs

The Nigerian Senate has demanded resignation of service chiefs over worsening insecurity in the country.

The Senate, during Tuesday’s plenary, resolved to “mandate the service chiefs to step aside for new ones to come in.”

The upper legislative chamber reached the resolution after its members deliberated on a motion bordering on activities of the military.

The motion by the Senate Committee Chairman on Army, Ali Ndume, was on the “rising number of casualties among the Nigerian Army and other security agencies recently to ambushes.”

The Senate had after deliberating on the motion resolved to “Observe a minute’s silence in honour of the fallen heroes,” and “Urge the Federal Government to urgently intensify the provision of modern equipment to enhance the operational capabilities of our armed forces.”

It also resolved to, “Mandate the Joint Committees on Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Defence, and Interior to receive briefings on the state of affairs of the services” with regards to the killing of troops.

Senator Francis Fadahunsi had also raised additional prayer, asking the service chiefs to resign. His motion was seconded by Senator Betty Apiafi.

Fadahunsi said: “The additional prayer is that the present corps of service chiefs should step aside for the new ideas to come in so as to improve our security situation.”

Responding, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said, “The spirit of this motion is that our armed forces are trying very hard. The good is still not enough. We need to continue to encourage and provide for them. They lay their lives on behalf of all of us and it is very sad that some of them have deserted the war front.”

Lawan said the joint committees would get to the root of reports that about 200 soldiers had deserted the Army.

He also condoled with the families of the fallen heroes.