At a Tuesday’s session, held to remember the 59 students that were killed in an attack by insurgents in Yobe State, the speaker of the House, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, said that the government, including the legislature, must act swiftly to ensure the protection of all citizens and end the killing of innocent Nigerians.
“When innocent, harmless and defenseless women and children became the target of these heartless murderous bandits and the lives of sleeping children are so callously snuffed out, it becomes clear that these agents of terror have murdered sleep and they henceforth deserve none.
“Whatever grievances the terrorists have with the government of Nigeria, Nigeria’s innocent children have nothing to do with it. Nigeria’s children bear no responsibility for either policy making or policy implementation in Nigeria.
“It is therefore acts of cowardice, worthy of bringing condemnation, to target children and strike at those who are not only innocent but are also unable to strike back or defend themselves” he said.
‘Act Swiftly And Decisively’
Mr Tambuwal pointed out that the government had run out of excuses to live up to its responsibility to protect Nigerian children.
“We no longer have any excuse for our inability to protect citizens and our innocent defenseless children from gratuitous violence. The Nigerian government must rise up to the occasion. And by government, I do not mean only the executives, we the legislators are also part of the government and we cannot therefore merely join in the chorus of lamentations.
“Our duty is to act swiftly and decisively in the protections of the citizenry,” the speaker stressed.
He insisted that there were certain questions that the House must now ask, which he said were; “how do we insure that the welfare of our military is effectively administered and that they have the appropriate equipment to executive their hazardous assignments? The sad events of recent weeks have once again made Nigerians ask whether monies appropriated for the welfare of security officers are properly administered.
“How do we strengthen the intelligence gathering capabilities of our intelligence agencies?
He appealed to Nigerians to join in the struggle for the soul of the nation and to embrace, as sacred, the mission of restoring peace and stability in Nigeria.
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