In response to the recent killings in Benue and Rivers states, President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday directed members of the Senate Adhoc Committee on Security to immediately resume sitting and work through the weekend to ensure they have an interim report ready for the consideration of members by next week.

Saraki, while responding to the situation in Benue State, especially, re-emphasised his belief that the killings are clear indications that the security architecture in the country has inherent faults and needs to be refurbished.

He said: “I believe the sad situation in Benue State shows some fundamental faults in our security system. There is clear failure of intelligence gathering, analysis and response time. Our security agencies must be totally overhauled in terms of equipment, specialisation, funding, training and staffing.

“This is the reason why in November, the Senate set up a special committee led by Senate Majority Leader, Ahmed Lawan, to work with security agencies and review the entire system with a view to identifying what is required in terms of laws, process, procedure, funding and other necessities for us to have a solid security system which can be pro-active in identifying potential threats, responding to them on time and preventing any breach.

“We are quite aware of the fact that security is the first and prime responsibility of any government. That is why since early last week I have directed the Lawan committee to take into consideration the sad developments in Benue and Rivers in their deliberations. Now, we cannot wait for the time they planned to conclude their recommendations. They must fast track their schedule.

“They must sit through the weekend and get an interim report ready for the Senate when we resume plenary on Tuesday. We must immediately support the executive in solving this problem. We cannot afford shedding of blood and we are already moving into the election year with the potential for the aggravation or escalation of these problems. We must decisively resolve the problem of needless bloodletting.”

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