Minna
Senator Mohammed Sani Musa representing Niger-East Senatorial District in Niger state in the National Assembly has pleaded with the Federal government to set up of a military base in some local government areas under attack by bandits.
Duaglobalnews reports that the Senator’s plea came on the hill of the killing of 4 policemen snf 5 civilians in fresh attacks in Kagara, Shiroro Local Government Areas of the state.
Musa stated this while reacting to the renewed attacks by bandits at Kundu and Yakila in Rafi Local Government yarea which left at least four policemen dead, many villagers wounded and kidnapped.
The latest being the attack on Monday in Erena, Shiroro Local Government Ares area which also led to the loss of at least three persons and hundreds displaced.
The lawmaker in a statement signed by Sagir Tafida, his Legislative Aide,expressed displeasure over the seeming inability of the federal government to find lasting solution to the security challenge in Niger-East.
“My heart is pained seeing the bloodletting in my constituency. Women are raped and killed. Men are maimed and children rendered fatherless.
“This development is really sad, especially that it has remained a recurring decimal.
“We have made several appeals to the federal government, we paid courtesy visit to His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari on our predicament.
“Yet, no end to these marauders’ carnage as they keep killing and maiming our people”, he said.
“The youths in my constituency have decided henceforth,to defend themselves in view of the failure of the federal government to address the lingering challenge. We have tried to calm them down all this while, assuring them of federal government’s intervention”.
“Now they have lost hope, and are deciding to defend themselves in any way they can.”
According to him, the military base will be better than the current makeshift arrangement, where troops are only deployed when there is an attack and withdrawn as soon as there is relative calmness, only for the bandits to attack almost immediately.
“But, the Federal Government is yet to give the directive,”he said.
He recalled that since the renewed attacks by bandits in Niger East, at least five hundreds lives had been lost,, thousands of people displaced, thousands of cattle rustled while properties worth millions of naira destroyed.