Niger Assembly Seeks Membership Of State Security Council

The Niger State House of Assembly on Thursday adopted a motion urging the executive to appoint the chairman of its committee on security as a member of the state security council.

It said that such appointment would keep the House abreast of the security situation in the state.

Deputy Speaker Ahmed Bello moved the motion calling for the inclusion of legislators in security meetings in the state under the Matter of Urgent Attention and the motion received the unanimous support of the lawmakers.

Bello said that the House could no longer continue to move motions on security and insecurity without fully knowing the issues involved.

?“We need to know what the Commissioner of Police is doing to protecting the lives of the police and the people in general.

“If there is insecurity in the state, there will be migration. In fact, people have started migrating out of Niger State; in less than a week, Minna alone has lost four policemen with their riffles taken from them.

“If robbers could kill policemen in uniform who are fully armed; what about the defenseless civilians on the streets?

“It is out of place for emirs to attend security meetings, leaving legislators out of it. We want to know the blueprint of the police in efforts to contain the situation in Niger State,” Bello said.

Assemblyman Jacob Gana noted that the nation's borders were too porous; stressing that radical measures should be taken to beef up security at the borders.

Assemblyman Isah Kawo bemoaned a situation in which the chairman of House committee on security was not invited to attend security meetings in the state and called for urgent steps to redress the anomaly.

The House also resolved that the media should be involved in efforts to sensitise of the people to the need to be more security conscious.

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