Barring any unforseen circumstances, the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu will appear before the Senate on Tuesday over rising insecurity in many parts of the country.
Specifically, the police boss is expected to speak on efforts of his men to quell escalating cases of banditry, armed robbery, terrorists attacks and kidnappings in Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Niger, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Benue, Taraba, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kogi, Enugu, Imo, Cross River, Edo, Delta, Abia, Kwara, Taraba, Osun, Ondo, Sokoto and other parts of the country.
BusinessDay reports that the orgy of kidnapping has made major national roads especially in the North West geopolitical zone impassable. The Abuja/Kaduna road is one major road that has been affected, as travellers have abandoned the ever busy highway following incessant kidnappings in preference for rail transport.
The Acting IGP’s invitation was sequel to a motion moved by Shehu Sani (PRP, Kaduna) and co-sponsored by 108 other senators about two weeks ago.
The police chief is expected to appear before Committee of the Whole where lawmakers will grill him on the escalating insecurity in most parts of the country.
Shortly after his return to Nigeria on Sunday after spending 10 days in the United Kingdom, President Muhammadu passed a vote of confidence on the IGP.
Asked to respond on the widespread kidnappings in the country, Buhari had told journalists: “I noticed Mohammed Adamu, acting Inspector General of Police, has lost weight, though it is a sign that he is working hard”.
Last week, the acting IGP had revealed that 1,071 persons lost their lives in crime-related cases across the country in the first quarter of 2019.
Speaking during the quarterly Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council meeting in Kaduna, Adamu said the crime statistics showed that between January and April, at least 685 persons were kidnapped across the country.
He explained that out of the 1,071 individuals that lost their lives during the period under review, 767 of them were from the North, adding that most of the murder cases recorded in the North are linked to banditry and communal violence.
Giving a further breakdown of the deaths, Adamu said the North-West topped the death list with 436; North-Central came second with 250; while the South-South geopolitical zone recorded 130 deaths.
According to him, Zamfara State topped the national prevalence rate with 203 murder cases, followed by Kaduna and Benue States with 112 and 90 reported cases respectively.
In relation to banditry, he said a total of 175 deaths were reported between January and April this year with Zamfara State topping the list with 104 reported cases, followed by Katsina State with 21 killed by bandits and Sokoto State with 19 cases.
