The Senate, yesterday, held a closed session that lasted for more than one hour with the Inspector- General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, over recent killings in Benue State and other states of the Federation.
The Senate had on Wednesday, summoned the Police Chief to appear before its committees on Police Affairs and Intelli-gence and explain why he had failed to implement the resolution of the Senate on the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the dastardly mass murders in Benue.
Similarly, the Senate a fortnight ago had thoroughly debated the deteriorating, worrisome security situation in the country, and thereafter, directed the IGP to within two weeks arrest and submit for persecution the New Year Day Benue killers. But the IGP was not able to beat the ultimatum, prompting the Chamber to summon the Police boss to appear for explanation over his failure to adhere to the directive of the lawmakers.
In his opening remarks before he sent journalists out of the meeting venue at the Senate New Building 2.21, the Chairman of the joint committee, Senator Abu Ibrahim (APC, Katsina State), said the meeting was not for media coverage. He also warned the IGP not to disclose the outcome of the security briefing to the Press until the committee laid its report on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday.
The lawmaker stated that the committee would work tirelessly to ensure that the report of the outcome of the meeting with the IGP would be presented at plenary next week. Attempts by journalists to speak with the committee chairman and the police chief after the closeddoor meeting yielded no result.
The ultimatum to the IGP was sequel to the adoption of the report of the Committee on the Review of the nation’s Security Infrastructure, which visited Benue state for an on-the-spot assessment.
However, speaking on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Gombe State, Joshua Lidani, drew the attention of the Senate to the fact that the IGP had not complied with the Senate’s resolution.
Accordingly, the lawmakers directed Idris to appear before the panel to explain why no arrests had been made even after the two weeks deadline elapsed.
Comments
