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Senate alerts to presence of fleeing B’Haram members in Taraba

By Segun Olaniyi, Abuja
10 March 2016   |   3:23 am
The Senate yesterday raised the alarm over the infiltration of towns and villages in Taraba State by fleeing Boko Haram insurgents.

BokoHaram-GUNS

The Senate yesterday raised the alarm over the infiltration of towns and villages in Taraba State by fleeing Boko Haram insurgents.

Adopting a four-prayer motion sponsored by Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP Taraba South) titled “The Need to Urgently Flush Out Boko Haram Insurgents Re-assembling in Taraba and Halt the Ongoing Silent Genocide in the State,” the Senate condemned the killings, kidnappings, destruction of property and farmlands going on in the state by Boko Haram insurgents.

It also called on security chiefs to deploy officers to Taraba in the recovery and reconstruction programme.

The Senate urged the Federal Government to undertake a holistic study of the crisis in Taraba, rehabilitate the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and supervise their re-integration into their communities.

The upper chamber also mandated relevant Senate committees to visit the affected areas in the state and the IDP camps, so as to confirm the level of damages and liaise with the state government and security agencies to find a lasting solution to the challenge.

Bwacha revealed that the insurgents escaping bombardment by the military are now relocating to neighbouring states.

He reminded his colleagues of the case of notorious Boko Haram kingpin, Kabiru Sokoto, who masterminded the bomb attack on St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madala in Niger State on Christmas Day in 2014, who was arrested in Mutum-Biya, Taraba State.

The lawmaker recalled how the former Military Director of Information, Major General Chris Olukolade revealed that some suspects arrested in Gidin Dorowa in Taraba State confessed to be members of the terrorist group.

Bwacha added: “There is a change of tactics by these insurgents who now parade as herdsmen to make it more difficult for the unsuspecting public to identify them.

“The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase, recently confirmed that the herdsmen involved in most of the butal killings are not the regular Fulanis we know.

“They go about grazing with AK 47 riffles and have killed over 2,000 people between December 2013 to date in the state.”

2 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    We should stop being pretenders .What are Herdsmen doing with AK 47 Guns which they carry about openly and IG has never challenged them ? They have been committing armed robbery and kidnapping like Igbo, Ijaw and Yoruba. My question is , can any Farmer in the South go to his Farm with AK. 47 freely without being challenged ? How one Nigeria is one Nigeria ?

  • Author’s gravatar

    So if this senator knows that herdsmen moving around with weapons are terrorist. why haven’t they demanded from the security forces to arrest any herdsman with a weapon. why would a cattle person need automatic weapon. it is time we deal with this herdsman and stop the free movement of this people with weapons.