Senate summons Defence minister, service chiefs over Kankara kidnapping

The Senate, on Tuesday, invited the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd.), service chiefs and heads of other security agencies to brief it on measure being taken to rescue the abducted students of Government Science School, Kankara Katsina State. This followed a motion by Senator Bello Mandiya (APC, Katsina South), who noted that […]

The Senate, on Tuesday, invited the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd.), service chiefs and heads of other security agencies to brief it on measure being taken to rescue the abducted students of Government Science School, Kankara Katsina State.

This followed a motion by Senator Bello Mandiya (APC, Katsina South), who noted that the abduction is coming on the heels of yet to be resolved abduction of 270 girls at Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in 2014, and abduction of about 100 school girls at Government Girls Science and Technical School, Dapchi, Yobe State in 2018.

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He expressed concern that like the other incidents of school children abduction that took place in Chibok and Dapchi, if no immediate action was taken to rescue Kankara School boys, their fate may be sealed in the hands of terrorists.

The Senators, in their various contributions, expressed deep frustration over the recurring issues of killings and kidnappings across the country and the inability of the service chiefs to address the challenges.

The Red Chamber, accordingly, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to consider and implement the recommendations of its adhoc committee on security challenges and Senate resolutions therefrom as a holistic response to the mounting security challenges across the country.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan urged the lawmakers not to get frustrated on discussing security issues.

He said, “There is nothing more important to the government than securing the lives of the people. In fact, that’s the essence of government.

“As parliament, we should never get tired or being frustrated of talking about what is happening to our people.

We are part of the government but have a specialized function. We are not wasting our time. We should continue to talk.”