The Senate at its plenary session of Thursday, 26 April 2018, resolved to invite President Muhammadu Buhari to address a joint session of the National Assembly on measures taken to address the ongoing security crises after a motion was moved by Sen. George Akume (APC: Benue) on the matter.

Sen. Akume’s submission expressed dismay over the continuous killings and destruction of lives and property in Benue State, particularly in the North- Western part of the State. While he acknowledged the efforts of the Nigerian Army to curb and curtail the incessant attacks of citizens in the State, he mentioned that attacks still persist.

The lawmaker also recalled the gruesome incident that occurred on Tuesday, 24 April 2018, at Gwer East Local Government Area of the State that involved the killings of 18 persons including 2 Catholic Priests during morning mass by armed herdsmen. He mentioned that the attack on a worship centre had immense consequences on the security and unity of the nation and only highlighted that the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) affected by the security crises in the state had increased at an alarming rate.

The Senate further resolved to consider and adopt the recommendations from the report of the Adhoc Committee on Review of Security Infrastructure, which conducted a National Security Summit on Thursday, 8 February and Monday, 12 February 2018 in Abuja.

The decision of the Senate to invite President Buhari to brief the National Assembly complements the House of Representatives resolution passed yesterday.