The Senate yesterday urged the chief of army staff (COAS), Lt. -Gen. Kenneth Minimah, to relocate his office to the 7th Division of Nigeria Army in Maiduguri, Borno State.
Asking him to regard the call as a matter of urgency, the Senate said the development is aimed at tackling the rising activities of Boko Haram insurgents.
The Senate said the call has become necessary following Tuesday’s massacre of 43 students of Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State.
The upper chamber said that it was alarmed by the apparent upsurge in the activities of the insurgents.
The chairman, Senate Committee on Defence and Army, Senator George Thompson Sekibo, read the resolutions after a budget defence session.
The resolution to order the COAS to relocate to Maiduguri with immediate effect followed a point of order raised by a member of the committee, Senator Babafemi Ojudu.
Ojudu drew the attention of the lawmakers to the killing of students in Yobe and demanded that drastic action should be taken to halt the wanton killing of innocent people in the state. The point of order was sustained.
In the resolutions, the committee condemned “the atrocity being unleashed by the Boko Haram elements on innocent citizens, especially in the north-east part of the country.”
The lawmakers said that “we regret what happened yesterday in the killing of innocent students in cold blood”.
The committee said that due to the gravity of the Yobe State incident, “The Committee on Defence and Army has, by this, issued a directive that the chief of army staff take the following actions:
“Re-strategize on possible new ways of curbing these excesses, mobilize all available military resources and face the insurgents.
“We heard of your planned relocation to Maiduguri; we hereby as the committee overseeing your activities direct that your office relocate temporarily to the 7th Division in Maiduguri and that you take urgent and appropriate steps to quell the situation.”
The committee also ordered that “from today, all schools and health institutions should be provided with special security, as we do not want a repeat of these killings of our innocent citizens”.
It asked President Goodluck Jonathan to mobilize all needed resources for the armed forces to “face this national challenge, as this battle must be won to sustain our nation’s stability and unity, as it is only in the atmosphere of peace and tranquility that development can be carried out”.
The committee promised to make a tour of the affected states when the Senate resumes plenary.
It noted that because of the prevailing situation “the committee will receive your budget proposal without going through the lines as no one goes to the town square to dance when there is fire in his house”.
The committee said that taking steps to quell insurgency and giving confidence of safety to Nigerians are of utmost priority to it.
The COAS told the committee that they required funds to execute their responsibilities.