An alert has been raised by Senate on Tuesday, June 21, to the military over terrorists hideouts in communities within three local government areas of Kwara and Niger States.
The alert was over terrorists’ hideouts in communities within three local government areas of Kwara and Niger States.
The upper chamber at the plenary urged the military to carry out a detailed onslaught of bandits and criminal elements within Kainji Lake National Park and the identified communities.
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The names of communities given by the chamber include Kaiama, Karonzi-Yashikira in the Baruten local government area, and Wawa and Babanna areas in Niger State.
These formed part of resolutions reached by the Senate after it considered a motion on the “worsening insecurity in Kainji Lake National Park and existential threat to communities in Kaima, Baruten and Borgu Local Government in Kwara and Niger States.”
The motion was sponsored by the lawmaker representing Kwara North Senatorial District, Senator Sadiq Umar, and co-sponsored by the Deputy Whip, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, representing Niger North.
In his presentation, Senator Umar noted;
Kidnapping and other forms of criminality are becoming a recurring decimal in communities close to the Kainji Lake National Park, particularly Nanu, Nuku, Woro, Kale in Kaiama, and Yashikira in the Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State and some part of Borgu Local Government in Niger State.
This has led to people living in perpetual fear of either being kidnapped and/or killed by kidnappers suspected to be armed bandits;
Further notes that the Kainji Lake National Park covers an area of about 5,341km square with deep forest Vegetation. This park, which is reserved for tourism, is becoming fortified in harbouring bandits and other forms of criminals;
Also notes that park rangers meant to man this park could no longer protect the forest reserve as they have lost control of the park to terrorists.
The Senate, in its resolutions, mandated the Committees on Defence, Finance and National Planning to jointly interface with the Ministry of Defence to determine the status of the establishment and funding of the Army Barrack in Kaiama and Forward Operation Base (FOB) in Babanna in Kwara and Niger States, respectively
