- Senate mirrors the nation’s frustration with its order to the IGP on Benue State killers
The crisis of the herdsman in the north, especially in the central part of the region, came to a brutal head when 73 persons were slaughtered in the night in Benue State. The nation watched with both despair and close to a revanchist spirit the wave of caskets bearing the souls of the innocents dispatched cruelly by men who claim to be neighbours and fellow countrymen.
Benue State’s condition spurred the Senate to give the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, a two-week ultimatum to fish out the killers so that the cold-blooded perverts can face the unerring majesty of the law and justice. It was a strong-word order from the country’s top law-making organ and warned of stern consequences if the order is flouted.
The senate president, Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu were unsparing in their rebuke of the handling of the security situation in the country.
“The president must act. Those responsible must be held accountable. The military all the time cannot be the solution,” said the senate president. “Action must begin to show Nigerians that we are not just talking. We need to ensure that this never happens again. We need to restore hope.”
On his part, Ekweremadu called for a state of emergency, so troops can operate in all parts of the country and avert more violence.
“The international and the intelligence community are worried that war is coming to Nigeria. We must not allow this to happen. The constitution says that the primary responsibility of government is the protection of lives and properties. Every day, we come here to condemn the killings and observe a minute silence,” said the senate deputy president.
What the senate has done with the ultimatum is to show frustration with the executive branch of government. The presidential system gives such a responsibility to the executive branch. The work of the lawmaker is to make laws and hold the executive to account if it fails. But it is not its place to punish agencies of government when they fail.
So, it is indeed puzzling that the senate can arrogate to itself such a task. Yet it is understandable that the lawmaker is stepping into a rather unfamiliar territory. The senate reflects the sentiment of the country and frustration with the executive branch that has seemed impotent to rein in the murderous excesses of the killers.
The Federal Government has responded to the killings in Benue State by sending the IGP there. It has also deployed soldiers. Yet, as the tears flowed the marauders struck again. In the Logo, Okpokwu and Guma local government areas of the state, fresh attacks led to the deaths of six persons. This has made the situation further frustrating. The defiance is underpinned by the proximity of the slaughter near where the IGP has hunkered down.
Less than a week before the ultimatum lapses, the police have not been able to take down any group. The answer to fishing out the killers is not the province of the police alone. It is the job of the intelligence community.
A new report has it that the killers may not be herdsmen but the Islamic State. We shall need more compelling evidence on this, but they advanced the position that some of the arrests have yielded such persuasion. This has complicated the search for and definition of the violence in the country.
We are not sure what the senate will do if the police fall short of capturing the killers of the Benue innocents. But the senate has helped to ratchet up the determination and frustration of the society to put this menace of killings behind us.
