The Senate, on Tuesday, summoned the Minister of Defence, the service chiefs, and heads of the Nigerian Police Force and the Department of State Service over the unending insecurity situation in the country.
The Senate passed the resolution following a motion moved by Senator Bello Mandiya from Katsina State on the abduction of a number of students of a secondary school in the state whose officials claimed were carried out by unknown bandits.
The resolution is coming after a news broke that Boko Haram had claimed it was responsible for the abduction of the secondary school students.
According to HumAngle on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, Boko Haram has disclosed that it currently has 523 of the children in captivity. It earlier reported that the terrorist group claimed responsibility of the abduction.
Several reports on the media after the abduction took place, estimated that about 600 pupils of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, were missing as some gradually emerged from the surrounding forest in the morning.
Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, on Sunday, claimed that 333 students were still missing, adding that the government was yet to be contacted by the group responsible for the abduction.
Receiving Federal Government delegation from Abuja, the Governor said, “Based on the available record we have, we are still searching for 333 students through either the forest or their parents to ascertain the actual number that has been kidnapped.”
Masari went further “We are still counting because more are coming out from the forest and we are calling through the numbers of those parents that have phone numbers to find out whether or not their children have gone back home.”
He also claimed that the school had a total number of 839 students.
On the contrary, the Senior Special Media Assistance to President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, told BBC Hausa that only 10 students were still in captivity.
He said, “Some of the children who fled the bush said that 10 children were being held hostage by the gunmen.”
On Monday, Daily Trust published that 668 students were missing, citing the official records of the Government Secondary School. Adding that the school had a total student population of 1,074.
According to BBC Hausa, one of the abductees who escaped from the captivity said they were 520 in numbers, which aligned with the information from Boko Haram sources.
The schoolboy told BBC Hausa that, “After we were taken into the forest, one of them ordered us to stop and count before continuing our journey. They asked one of us to count and there were 520 students.”
On Tuesday, the Senate called on Buhari to implement the report of the Senate Committee on Security challenges without further delay.
Members of the red chamber in their various contributions to the motion, passed a vote of no confidence in the various heads of security agencies in the country over their inability to prevent the abduction of the innocent children.
The Senators expressed deep frustration that Buhari had consistently ignored all resolution passed by the Senate on the issue of security in the country.
Insisting that the country’s chief security officers should sack the service chiefs without further delay.
