Fred Itua, Abuja
The Senate, yesterday, raised the alarm over what it described as frightening killings in Rivers State.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said any form of criminality must be tackled in the interest of the country.
He said the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, warned that the insecurity in Rivers State, just like in other states of the federation, will not be treated lightly.
He insisted that all hands should be on deck to deal with criminality decisively.
The Senate’s position, followed a motion by Andrew Uchendu on the rising spate of killings in Rivers State.
In his lead debate, Uchendu said he is aware that the killing of innocent citizens as a result of murder, kidnapping, violence or abduction has been the bane of Rivers State for more than a decade.
He recalled that the killings assumed a dangerous proportion before, during, and after the 2015 general election.
He expressed worry that the nature of killings in the state assumed a more horrendous dimension by the decapitation and or dismembering of body parts, including beheading of victims.
The lawmaker said he learnt that “a new twist has now being added to this sacrilegious conduct by not only killing by beheading but also by having the corpses burnt.”
He informed the Senate that at about 9pm on Sunday, May 19, gunmen invaded Isiodu community in Emohua Local Government Area, and killed three young men aged between 23 and 30 and burnt the bodies. The killings, he said, spread across the length and breadth of Rivers State.
The senator recalled that during the last interaction between the Senate and IGP Adamu, he stated that kidnappings and killings have become a way of life in Rivers State.
Uchendu noted that he is aware that the primary responsibility of any responsive government is the provision of security of life and property of its citizens.
He also told the Senate that “in Rivers State, life has become more brutish and worthless, since anybody can be killed, kidnapped or abducted at any time of the day.”
He was alarmed that no meaningful strategy had been put in place to check the unbridled development in the polity,
He expressed regret that traditional rulers and community heads who are neither in control of the police, the army nor the resources were being told to check kidnapping and killings in their community.