A civil society organisation, Save Nigeria Movement (SNM) has appealed to the Senate President Godswill Akpabio to expose a serving senator alleged to be involved in the spate of kidnapping and ransom taking in the North Central and North West parts of the country.
The CSO call was prompted by media reports that a certain senator from the northern part of the country, who is also heading a sensitive committee in the Senate, has been identified as one of the sponsors and financiers of banditry and other terror-related activities in the region.
Led by its convener, Rev Solomon Semaka, the group at a rally held at the Abuja Unity Fountain demanded a probe on the senator’s alleged level of involvement in the act.
While applauding the role being played by security agencies in nipping in the bud the spate of insecurity in the polity, the group said it behooves the National Assembly to put in place measures at ensuring the success of the president Bola Ahmed Tinubu led administration.
“Allegations as grave as the involvement of a high ranking Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in criminal syndicates such as sponsoring insecurity should embarrass every Nigerian. To whom much is given, so much more is expected,” the group noted.
“Any Nigerian who has been deemed by his constituents to be voted in as a Senator must leave above board. Anything short of that is unacceptable. The Senate as an institution too cannot afford to degenerate to the level of harbouring criminals.
“We therefore, urge the Senate leadership to immediately cause an investigation into the veracity of this media reports and fish out the errant Senator so as to restore the confidence of Nigerians in the Senate.”
Continuing, it noted: “Our security agencies are doing their best to safeguard our country and we must commend them for a job well done. Their intelligence gathering sharing networks are top-notch, dynamic and proactive.
“However, their efforts cannot yield the desired results if we have highly placed persons sitting on sensitive committees in the Senate and directly working against their efforts. With this revelation and many more that will come after an unbiased investigation, it is clear that some individuals are out to frustrate President Tinubu’s administration efforts in fighting insecurity and it will amount to political sabotage if the National Assembly looks away when their own is accused of sponsoring insecurity.
“Mr President has shown great commitment to ending insecurity and we commend him for that. We are solidly aligned with his Renewed Hope Agenda and it is our hope that our country will soon be safe.
“The leadership of NASS must, therefore, act swiftly and show support for Mr President’s genuine efforts to end insecurity. Failure to act on the part of the National Assembly leadership will amount to complicity in insecurity and terrorism sponsorship.
“The rally we have had here is in furtherance of our call on the National Assembly and all stakeholders to support President Tinubu’s administration efforts in curbing insecurity in Nigeria. Our voices must be heard and the National Assembly must act if not we shall mobilise and occupy the National Assembly Complex until the right thing is done and the culprit revealed. We are confident too that the media will continue to support our efforts to secure our country for all Nigerians to live and thrive,” Semaka said.
