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From Iheanyi Chukwudi, Enugu
The House of Representatives has expressed its resolve to end the daily wasting of lives of Nigerians in the country.
Disclosing this in Enugu yesterday, its ad-hoc Committee investigating the murder of some persons allegedly killed by the Nigerian army in Enugu State, said the National Assembly “is worried by the way and manner the lives of Nigerians are being wasted on a daily basis, and resolved to end this by whichever means possible.”
Chairman of the ad-hoc committee, Hon Abdulraheem Sanni Egidi, who spoke at the Government House, Enugu, when the members of the committee paid a working visit to the Governor, Mr. Peter Mbah, to brief him on their mission, expressed the Committee’s resolve to unravel the reasons behind the unlawful killings of some Enugu indigenes by soldiers at Eke in Udi Local Government of the state.
He commended Governor Mbah, for the support his administration has been giving to security agencies in his efforts to protect the lives and property of the citizens, and rid the state of crime.
Egidi noted that Mbah had shown resolve in combating criminality and ensuring the “protection of lives and properties of the people” by providing adequate support in cash and kind to the security agencies to complement the efforts of the federal government.
He however, expressed displeasure with the way the Nigeria soldiers killed some members of vigilante groups who were responding to distress call on banditry and kidnapping, added that they were on a fact-finding assignment in the state.
The lawmaker disclosed that his ad-hoc committee was set up to embark on the fact-finding mission following a motion moved by the member representing Ezeagu/Udi Federal Constituency, Hon. Sunday Umeha, to investigate the “gruesome murder of some Nigerians by soldiers in the state on the 29th of June, 2023.”
He said, “The House considering this as a matter of urgent public interest as it affects the lives of Nigerians, resolved to set up this ad-hoc committee to among other things; investigate what actually happened on that fateful day, and punish those found culpable; visit the victims critically lying at the hospital, and families of the deceased, and urge the National Emergency Management Agency to provide relief materials to the victims of the gunshots.”
Responding, Gov. Mbah extolled the resilient spirit of the committee for being proactive in their response to the plight of Nigerians, assuring that the state government would give them maximum support and protection as they discharged their duties.
Mbah, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Ifeanyi Ossai, said the state welcomed the development with delight even as he condemned the unfortunate loss of lives and urged the committee to discharge their duties without partiality, by listening to all sides, including witnesses, before drawing their conclusions.
He observed that the security agencies in the state have been putting their best efforts to ensure that the lives and properties of Nigerians were protected in the state, and called for a robust relationship between those saddled with the responsibility of guaranteeing the life of every citizen and members of the public.
Lamenting on the heavy spending and other sacrifices the state has been making to keep the state safe, Mbah appealed to the National Assembly to consider allocating special security funding to Enugu State in the next cycle of budget.
He said, “The investment this government is making on security is enormous. We have enjoyed the collaborative synergy with the security agencies, but we need the federal government to assist us to do more.
“We need investment from the federal government to rejig and re-equip the security apparatuses in the state. We need the federal government in providing tools that the security services need so as to gradually relieve the state of the burden of what we have been investing,”
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Uche Ugwu, has assured the committee that the State Assembly would be volunteering its facilities for the public hearing, assuring them of the citizens’ cooperation.
Ugwu who hosted the Committee at the conference room of the Assembly complex, said the incident happened in his constituency, and condemned the killings as “crime against humanity” which must be investigated to a logical conclusion.
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