The Senate has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, declare bandits as terrorists and wage total war against them.
This was just as the lawmakers wanted the President to give orders to the military to eliminate them by bombing their hideouts.
The Senate also asked Buhari to immediately declare all known leadership of the bandits wanted, and track them wherever they are for arrest and prosecution.
These formed part of resolutions reached on Wednesday after the chamber considered a motion on banditry in Sokoto during plenary.
The motion was sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Gobir (APC, Sokoto East).
Presenting his motion, the lawmaker lamented that Sokoto East Senatorial District has now become a safe haven for bandits, following a crackdown on them by the military in Zamfara.
He expressed worry that on Saturday 25th September, 2021, twenty one (21) Security Personal were killed in Dama and Gangara villages by rampaging bandits.
The lawmaker disclosed that out of those killed, 15 of them were soldiers, 3 mobile police and 3 members of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, in addition to the yet to be ascertained number of civilians from the neighboring villages.
He added that most of the bandits have now relocated to Sabon Bimini and Isa local Government due to the sustained military operation at the Zamfara axis.
The lawmaker observed that while the crackdown on the bandits was taking place in Zamfara state, no concrete measures have so far been taken in Sokoto State, leaving it totally exposed to the activities of bandits.
He further expressed worry that the present military onslaught on the bandits is not well coordinated because it is only being orchestrated in Zamfara State, instead of all the front line States ravaged by bandits.
Gobir, therefore, called on the military to carry out a holistic operation on frontline states such as Sokoto, Katsina, Niger and Kaduna in order to produce effective and the desired results.
In his remarks, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, commended the efforts of the Armed Forces in the sustained fight against insecurity in the country.
“If we could pass over N800 billion in the supplementary budget, I don’t see why we cannot improve the resources up to N1 trillion and then hold our security agencies accountable,” he said.
