…Condemn terror attacks in Adamawa, Sokoto states

Disturbed by latest killings in Adamawa and Sokoto states by terrorists, serving senators under the aegis of Northern Senators Forum on Friday declared that the time for the “establishment and functionality of state police is now.”

The senators who made the call through a statement signed by the chairman of the Forum, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua (Katsina Central), specifically urged the federal government, through the Presidential Working Group chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, governors, and Houses of Assembly, to “give prompt attention and concurrence to the State Police Bill currently awaiting ratification.”

The statement read in part, “Decentralised policing is critical to improving response time and intelligence gathering at the grassroots.  

“We cannot continue to lose innocent lives to insurgents while bureaucracy delays critical security reforms. The time to act is now.

“The Forum prays for the repose of the souls of the departed and for the speedy recovery of those injured.”

Lamenting the latest terror attacks in Adamawa and Sokoto states’ communities which claimed 36 lives, the senators commiserated with families of victims.

They urged state and local governments to invest in and strengthen community vigilance groups to serve as intelligence partners to the police and military.

“The Northern Senators Forum strongly condemns the recent wave of terrorist attacks in Gaya community, Hong local government area of Adamawa state and in Ungushi village, Kebbe local government area of Sokoto state, which have claimed the lives of over 36 Nigerians, including security personnel and innocent worshippers.”