Reps protest rising attacks

The House of Representatives, yesterday, held a special plenary session on Nigeria’s escalating insecurity, with lawmakers issuing some of the strongest self-indicting speeches heard in the chamber in recent years.

Members warned that the country was “slipping,” institutions failing, adding that parliament must take responsibility to rescue the nation.

Minority Leader of the House, Kingsley Chinda, who lamented that insecurity could not be addressed without unity and honesty, said: “Nigerians travel with fear, pray until their relatives arrive, and live in a country where government has failed in its primary duty.

“If we cannot protect the lives and property of Nigerians as enshrined in our constitution, are we worthy to continue to sit as a parliament?

“We cannot fight this battle without unity. Yes, there are religious killings. The answer is yes. But is that the major cause of insecurity? The answer is no. We must stop painting this problem with one brush,” he said.

Chinda identified political violence, porous borders, economic displacement, and extremist ideology as contributing factors, warning that politicians themselves have “imported people across our unprotected borders” for political gains.

He urged parliament to create a National Border Force and adopt state or community policing, saying “we do not have a border force in Nigeria. The time has come for us to create one, backed by technology.”

He also demanded a closed-door session with all security chiefs where “we must tell them the feelings of Nigerian people. My heart is heavy for Nigeria.”