Northern senators are seeking urgent action on state police as attacks by terror groups are escalating in parts of the North again.
Lately, there have been killings in Plateau and Benue, while Adamawa and Sokoto were the most recent.
On Friday, the Northern Senators Forum, in a reaction to the renewed killings, called for the immediate establishment and operationalisation of state police.
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The lawmakers, in a statement signed by the Chairman of the forum, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua (Katsina-Central), urged the Federal Government to give prompt attention to the State Police Bill currently awaiting ratification by liaising with state governors and their Houses of Assembly.
They specifically urged the Presidential Working Group chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, to complete its assignment by bringing the state police framework into practical implementation.
“Decentralised policing is critical to improving response time and intelligence gathering at the grassroots.
“We cannot continue to lose innocent lives to insurgents while bureaucracy delays critical security reforms. The time to act is now,” the senators said.
The forum prayed for the repose of the souls of the deceased and the speedy recovery of those injured in the attacks.
Lamenting the latest terrorist attacks in communities in Adamawa and Sokoto, which claimed the lives of 36 people, the senators commiserated with the families of the victims.
They also urged state and local governments to invest in and strengthen community vigilante groups to serve as intelligence partners to the police and military.
“The Northern Senators Forum strongly condemns the recent wave of terrorist attacks in Gaya community, Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State, and Ungushi village, Kebbe Local Government Area of Sokoto State, which have claimed the lives of over 36 Nigerians, including security personnel and innocent worshippers,” they said.
Reports indicate that in Adamawa, terrorists killed at least 25 people in twin raids on Kirchinga and Garaha, and another Adamawa attack later claimed by the Islamic State affiliate left at least 29 people dead in Guyaku community.
The assaults were marked by heavy gunfire, houses burned, and attacks on civilians gathering in public places, underscoring the continuing reach of Boko Haram/ISWAP-linked violence in the northeast of Nigeria.
In Sokoto, terrorists recently attacked the Tsamaye community in Sabon Birni Local Government Area, reportedly killing at least 21 people and abducting 37 others.
Villagers also fled in large numbers after the second assault on the same community within a week. Earlier violence in the area had already claimed eight lives, including worshippers inside a mosque.