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The Nigerian Senate this afternoon strongly condemned last weekend’s high civilian casualties in the war between the country’s joint military task force and Boko Haram insurgents in Baga, a town in Borno State bordering Chad Republic.

Senate President David Mark described the development as “totally unacceptable” while reacting to the heart-rending picture painted at the Senate in session by Senator Maina Lawan, the representative of Borno North Constituency.

Senator Lawan expressed grief over the level of aggression shown in Baga, which he termed “outrageous.” “He decried the loss of human lives and property in that area, and noted that the town is in total ruins,” said Senator Abubakar Olusola Saraki while giving an account of the trend of deliberations to his Facebook friends.

Saraki said that Senate President Mark, himself a retired Brigadier-General, in concurring with Senator Lawan “stated that there are rules of engagement in any combat and that what has happened in Baga is totally unacceptable. He however stated that there hasn’t been any conclusive report on who the perpetrators of the Act are, and that an Executive Committee has already been set up to probe the matter. He stated that the Senate will also constitute a legislative Committee to look into the report that will be turned out, and report back to the Senate.”

The Senate President also “encouraged the people of Baga and the entire public with relevant information to come up and give the Committee any useful information concerning the incidence.”

Apart from observing a minute’s silence in honour of the victims, the Senate constituted a Joint Committee of the Senate Committee on Defence, Police and Intelligence & National Security as the legislative Committee on the matter.

•Photo shows Senate President David Mark.

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