Insecurity: Reps meet service chiefs behind closed doors, call for synergy

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has disclosed that the house will work with the Nigerian military and other security agencies to tackle the growing insecurity in Nigeria.  He disclosed this after a lengthy closed-door meeting with the service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, the Chief of […]

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has disclosed that the house will work with the Nigerian military and other security agencies to tackle the growing insecurity in Nigeria.

 He disclosed this after a lengthy closed-door meeting with the service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor, and heads of other security agencies on Tuesday.

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The meeting was attended by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and heads of railway and aviation agencies.

 It was convened by the leadership of the House following a resolution on a motion after the attacks on Kaduna International Airport and the Abuja-Kaduna Train tracks by terrorists.

 One person was killed by the terrorists during an attack at the Kaduna Airport while at least nine persons were reportedly killed and many others abducted during the attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train.

 It could be recalled that an earlier meeting convened by the Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase was suspended as representatives sent by the service chiefs were turned back.

 Speaking to journalists at the end of the meeting, Gbajabiamila said, “We had extensive deliberations. A lot of the issues we discussed there unfortunately are defence matters; they are not for public consumption. 

 “But I can assure you that there was a lot of collaboration, a lot of ideas that came together in terms of how we can work together and speak together in one voice as opposed to different voices. 

 “And we talked about the all important issues of whether or not there are elements within the military themselves that we need to deal with issues of norms, like someone stated. 

 “We talked about training and re-training, we talked about the issue of capacity and allowances. We talked about several things, a lot of them, like I said, were on security and I am not at liberty at this point. 

 “But for us to have been here for four, five hours, you must know that we have made some good headway and extensive decisions.”

 When asked about his countenance after coming out of the meeting, he said, “Nobody is happy; I was not happy going in, but I am happy coming out.”

 Earlier, the speaker had reminded the service chiefs and the heads of other agencies that the house had held a security summit a year ago and had presented far-reaching resolutions and recommendations to the president on matters of security.

 He said recent happenings call for more effective synergy and efforts to tame the rise in attacks and kidnappings in the country.

 The speaker disclosed that the attacks on Kaduna International Airport and the Abuja-Kaduna train by terrorists which claimed lives and resulted in the abduction of others were causes for concern.

 On his part, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, lamented that the issue regarding the proposed security equipment for the Nigerian Railways had been politicised.

 Speaking, the Chief of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor, said the meeting was apt especially as regards the concern over the recent attacks.

 He informed the lawmakers that the Nigerian military was ready to work at any moment to address the security concerns of Nigerians to the best of its abilities.