The Senate yesterday ordered investigation into the killings of alleged Boko Haram sect members in Apo in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
The upper chamber mandated its Joint Committee on National Security, Intelligence and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to probe the circumstances that led to the killings of over eight people at Apo on September 20.
The joint committee was given seven days to submit its report for consideration in plenary.
The committee was also asked to sit in camera because it involves security matters.
This followed a motion by Senator Sahabi Ya’au (Zamfara North)
Ya’u noted with dismay the shooting in an uncompleted building on Soji Aderemi Close, Bamanga Tukur Street of Apo Legislative Quarter, Abuja on September, 20.
The lawmaker said that he was disturbed by the various accounts of the unfortunate incident which left eight persons, mostly tri-cycle (commonly called Keke Napep) operators dead.
The Senator added that the incident left about 16 other people with various degree of injuries.
He said that most of the dead were indigenes of Zamfara, Katsina and Kano states.
Ya’u said he was aware that the Department of State Security Services (SSS) claimed that the persons killed were members of the Boko Haram sect who were using the building as a hideout and weapons store, preparatory to a terrorist attack on the Federal Capital City.
The Zamfara State-born lawmaker said the SSS claimed that operatives of the Service were attacked by sympathisers of the sect when the operatives went to exhume weapons buried in the uncompleted building sequel to intelligence report received from some detained Boko Haram elements.
The Senate, Yau claimed should note that survivors and eyewitnesses claimed that the Keke Napep operators and artisans were squatters who pay N200 daily to enable them sleep in the uncompleted building and had been instructed to vacate the property by the owner.
He observed that the deadline given to them (squatters) to vacate had not expired “whereupon the owner of the property, allegedly a high-placed security service official, leveraged the instrumentality of the SSS and the army to forcefully eject the squatters.”
According to him, the eyewitnesses claimed that “the mid-night operation went wrong when eight of the squatters were shot dead by the combined team of the SSS operatives and the army in an orgy of unrestrained shootings.”
He said that accounts and claims on the incident have raised “serious issues of human rights and the use of security services towards settling personal scores and therefore needed to be investigated by an independent body to unearth the circumstances and facts behind the killings.”
Yau prayed the Senate to accordingly resolve to “condemn the extra judicial killings in the Apo Quarters.” The prayer was not taken.
He also prayed the Senate to mandate its Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, National Security and Intelligence, Defence and Army and Police Affairs to investigate the circumstances that led to the killings and report back in two weeks.
The Senate, he said, should also observe a minute silence in honour of the deceased. The Senate disallowed the prayer until after investigation.
Senator Clever Ikisikpo (Bayelsa East), who seconded the motion noted that his house in Zone E, Apo Legislative Quarters is about 100 meters away from the scene of the shooting.
He said: “Whatever happened, the shooting was uncalled for. We don’t really know whether they are Boko Haram members. The SSS said that they were Boko Haram members, others said no.”
Ikisikpo said that effort should be made to enforce the Federal Territory Capital (FCT) law that stipulates that no house should remain uncompleted for more than two years.
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu described the issue as “very sensitive” especially when human lives were involved.
He cautioned the senators against going into the merit or demerit of the problem as it would be prejudicial.
“I pray that we refer the matter to the relevant committees. We should suspend discussion of the matter until we get the report of our committee on the matter,” Ekweremadu said.
Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba (Cross River Central) said that these are very difficult times for the country and the world at large.
He said: “We are living in very perilous time. The killing took place on 20th September. On Saturday September 21, the Westgate Mall was seized in Kenya. On Sunday Peshawar, a city in Pakistan, a church was bombed and over 60 people died. There was an alert that terrorists were set to strike in different parts of the world. We may have to draw a link with what happened in different parts of the world with what happened in Nigeria.”
Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (Borno South) also cautioned that the Senate should not draw a pre-emptive conclusion.
He described the incident as unfortunate and prayed the Senate to impress on security agencies to stop prejudicial killing.
Mark noted that while the Senate is totally against terrorism and extra-judicial killing, operational procedure should be left out until after investigation.
He said that nobody in the chamber has details of what happened.
He noted that “what we want is fact and details of what happened before we can draw conclusions. Any thing we say now is based on speculation and what we read on the pages of the newspaper and at this level we should not be operating at that stage. Let us face the facts and once we get the fact we shall work based on fact.”
He said that the two weeks requested by the mover of the motion for the committee to conclude its investigation was too far and said it should be done in one week.
He also told the Senator Mohammed-led Committee on Security and National Intelligent to work in camera.
Source: The Nation
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