Reps to Unveil National Security Blueprint as Speaker Abbas Visits Kebbi

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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Tajudeen Abbas, says the National Assembly will soon present a comprehensive security blueprint for adoption by the Federal and State Governments as part of efforts to curb the worsening insecurity across the country.

Dr. Abbas disclosed this when he led a House delegation to the Kebbi Government House to commiserate with the government and people of the state over last week’s abduction of 24 students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga.

The Speaker expressed shock over the attack, especially at a time when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Nasir Idris are intensifying efforts to safeguard lives and property in Kebbi and across the nation.

Describing the incident as “a wake-up call,” Dr. Abbas said Nigeria’s leaders must continually devise innovative strategies to confront insecurity. He extended the solidarity of the House to the state government, assuring that lawmakers will support all measures aimed at rescuing the abducted students and restoring lasting peace to the state.

While paying tribute to the school’s late Vice Principal, whose courageous actions reportedly cost him his life, the Speaker appealed to Governor Idris to immortalise him by renaming the school in his honour.

Responding, Governor Nasir Idris thanked the delegation for identifying with Kebbi during what he described as a traumatic period for the state. He restated his administration’s commitment to partnering with the House of Representatives to strengthen security and protect citizens.

Governor Idris called for a full overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture, saying the current system is failing to check the activities of bandits who “move in their hundreds on motorcycles and even ply highways without hindrance.”

The Governor also expressed deep concern over the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal of military personnel from the school shortly before the attack. He revealed that after the state received intelligence, the military initially requested logistics to deploy personnel, only for them to be pulled out minutes before the bandits struck.

He urged the House to investigate who ordered the withdrawal and why it was carried out.

Governor Idris further assured that the state government will honour the Speaker’s request by renaming the school after the late Vice Principal.

 

By Imran Musa