By Leke Baiyewu
The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to collaborate with the Niger State Government to secure the release of the 136 Islamiyyah students of Salihu Tanko Islamic School, Tegina, in the Rafi Local Government Area of the state, who were abducted on May 30, 2021.
While calling on the government to rejig the security architecture to combat the growing insecurity in Nigeria, the House urged security agencies to deploy aircraft and drones to hotbeds of crimes in the country, especially Niger.
The call was sequel to a motion unanimously adopted by the lawmakers at the plenary on Thursday, which was sponsored by members from the state.
The motion was sponsored by Saidu Abdullahi, and the co-sponsors were Messrs Abdullahi Garba, Mohammed Bago, Abubakar Suleja, Mamudu Abdullahi, Jafaru Mohammed, Barwa Beji, Usman Abdullahi, Saidu Doka and Salihu Salleh.
It was titled, ‘Urgent Need to Secure Release of 136 Abducted Schoolchildren from Tegina in the Rafi Local Government Area and Rejig Security Architecture to Curb the Worsening Insecurity in Niger State.’
Consequently, the House urged the “National Security Adviser, service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police and other security agencies to re-jig security architecture with a view to putting in place effective strategies and counter measures to curb escalating insecurity across Niger State.”
The Niger lawmakers lamented that two weeks after the abduction, the children were still in captivity.
They said, “The House is worried that these elements have been gruesomely torturing and killing innocent lives, destroying critical infrastructure and property, carting away foodstuffs, rustling cattle and domestic animals; and instilling fears, tensions and anxieties in the minds of people across the state and the country.
“The House is concerned that the huge investments of this administration in the agricultural sector across the state have been practically frustrated as the farmers can no longer farm for a living as a direct result of the fear of attacks. The aftermath is aggravation of food insecurity and…
