Reps probe Borno bombings as lawmaker blames security agencies, communities for incidents

Ahmed Jaha, a member of the House of Representatives, says the recent suicide bombings that rocked Borno State occurred due to complacency by security agencies and the communities.

Mr Jaha, who represents Damboa/Gwoza/Chibok Federal Constituency of Borno State, stated this on Tuesday while leading a debate on a motion to investigate the recent twin bombings that rocked the state.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the explosions allegedly detonated by female suicide bombers suspected to be members of the Boko Haram seçt.

Speaking on the recent attacks, Mr Jaha said both the people and the security services became complacent in the face of a false sense of security and stopped taking the necessary precautionary measures.

“We cannot continue to be complacent. Complacency is one of the reasons why this thing happened in my constituency,” he said.

Mr Jaha said the suicide bombers could have been spotted because they wore the same clothes on that day.

“I want us to know that the suicide bombers, after identifying their faces, it was discovered that they were recruited, brainwashed, and imported to Gwoza from somewhere to cause this issue.

“They came in uniform. They were wearing the same colour of uniform. So, it is a wake-up call for everybody in the country. If you see this kind of thing, they are more or less a security threat.

“There is a pressing need for our security agencies to enhance their intelligence-gathering capabilities and engage more effectively with local communities to prevent the reoccurrence of such tragic incidents in the future.

“Intelligence gathering is a critical tool in the fight against terrorism, and it is essential that our security forces have the necessary resources and support to gather timely, actionable intelligence to prevent attacks before they occur,” he said.

Tinubu should sack his appointees in security sector — Dasuki

Speaking on the motion, a member of the House, Abdussamad Dasuki, said President Bola Tinubu must take action on his political appointees in the security sector.

He said many of them have failed to deliver despite being from the northern part of the country.

“In the last year that we got inaugurated into this House, there have been too many incidents.

“We had a jailbreak, nobody has been sacked. People are killed, nobody has been sacked. It is high time we found somebody responsible.

“The earlier we look for a scapegoat, which is justifiable, the better. These guys have not lived up to expectations. Every single day, we have a minimum of three security motions and lives are lost. It’s high time we came up with a resolution. We have a lot of these resolutions.

“I think more than 50 per cent of the resolutions of the 10th Assembly are security-related. So, let’s find the culprit. We have our committees that are living up to expectations. They can research this. They can look at those who have not done what is expected of them, and somebody should be held responsible,” he said.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson, said the only solution is state police.

“All society strategies should be used to detect this type of action before they happen.

“That is why I would always suggest that the committee which you (deputy speaker) chair on constitutional review should please prioritise state police.

“The number of men and women we have in uniform is not commensurate with the number of personnel we need,” he said.

Others who spoke on the motion included the Chairman of the Committee on Navy, Yusuf Gagdi and former Deputy Speaker Idris Wase.

Following the debate, the House resolved that the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence should investigate and report to the House in two weeks.