Crime
Adamawa Attacks: Senators Call for Urgent Federal Action
Serving Senators from the North on Sunday called on the Federal Government, through Defence Headquarters, to, as a matter of urgency, reinforce security presence in the Kopre-Sambisa corridor in Adamawa State, following the latest attacks on 226 and 232 Battalions by insurgents.
The Senators, in a personally signed statement by their Chairman, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua (Katsina Central), described the attacks, which led to the loss of three gallant soldiers, a forest guard and innocent civilians, as not only an assault on the North but on Nigeria as a whole.
While commiserating with the families of victims of the attacks across Garaha, Dabna, Bangna, Mubang, Zah, Bitirhuya, Kwapre, Mayo Ladde, Gaya-Dlang, Garkida, Boima, and Guyaku in Hong and Gombi Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, the Senators urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the North East Development Commission (NEDC) to provide relief materials for those affected.
To prevent a recurrence of the insurgent attacks, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday of the just-ended week, the Northern Senators tasked people of the affected communities to provide relevant security agencies with actionable information from time to time.
“We are deeply pained by the reports of killings, abductions of women and children, burning of places of worship, destruction of properties, and the tragic displacement of hundreds of families who were forced to flee their ancestral homes on the eve of our nation’s 66th Independence anniversary.
“These attacks, which targeted the 226 Battalion in Garkida and 232 Battalion in Garaha, are not only an assault on Adamawa State, but an assault on the North and on the Nigerian nation as a whole.
“We call on the Federal Government and Defence Headquarters to urgently reinforce security presence in the Kopre-Sambisa corridor and adopt a unified, proactive strategy to flush out these criminal enclaves.
“The Northern Senators Forum stands in solidarity with the people of Adamawa State. By our collective efforts, you will not be abandoned to terrorists.
“We condemn in the strongest terms these cowardly acts,” they said.