The House of Representatives has condemned the June 29 suicide bomb attacks in the Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno, accusing Nigerian politicians of “playing politics” with citizen’s lives.

This followed a motion of urgent public importance by Rep. Ahmed Jaha (Borno-APC) on the floor of the House in Abuja on Tuesday, following the June 29 suicide bombing in Borno.

At least 32 people died, and dozens were injured in the attacks last Saturday.

The lawmaker, while presenting his motion, condemned the attack on innocent lives, urging security agencies to be on their toes.

Contributing to the debate, Rep. Ahmed Wase (APC-Plateau) urged the security agencies to redouble their efforts, emphasising the need to assess the number of security agencies in the country.

He said, “Today, the list of the 10,000 police to be recruited is not yet out, and the people concerned are playing politics with it.”

“We are playing politics with the lives of Nigerians,” the lawmaker said. “This is about doing the right thing. The matter of security is for all of us, and we should not pretend.”

He added that the State Security Service (SSS) in the past arrested those supplying arms to insurgents, adding that security operatives must arrest people found culpable and charge them accordingly.

“We should not sabotage the efforts of the security agencies, and I think they are doing their best, but accountability has been lacking. Holding some people to account is necessary,” said Mr Wase.

Rep. Babajimi Benson (APC-Lagos) said the crime was heinous and barbaric, adding that a lot of innocent people were affected.

Urging the committee on constitutional review to consider the establishment of state police, Mr Benson said, “The number of men we presently have in uniform is not commensurate with the number of security agents we ought to have at the moment; the unemployed youths can engaged to do the jobs.”

Rep. Yusuf Gagdi (APC-Plateau) said the suicide bombing was not palatable, adding that there must have been complacency on the part of the community and security agents.

He said, “From the inception of insecurity in Nigeria, I cannot see any data on complacency over insecurity, and until we are able to tackle this, people will not account for negligence.

“The government must hold particular people accountable and centralise improving the living standard of the people.”

He said the country’s security apparatus must be discussed, adding that the Inspector General of Police is not from northern Nigeria and that the Chief of Army Staff must hold others accountable.

The lawmaker added that blaming the president would not augur well because he is not in charge of those agencies.

Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the plenary, said it was imperative to debate issues that concern the lives of the people who are mostly affected.

Adopting the motion, the House urged the security agencies to rejig the security measures and ensure such steps extend to all states.

The House also referred the motion to the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence for further action.

(NAN)