Reps probe killing of Biafra agitators in South East

House mulls solution to Avengers’ attacks
Worried about the killing of suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in parts of the South East geopolitical zone, the House of Representatives has waded into the issue with a view to getting a clearer picture of the entire incident.

To this end, the lower chamber of the National Assembly yesterday mandated its committees on Human Rights as well as National Security and Intelligence to probe the matter and report back within two weeks.The resolution followed the adoption of a motion on the issue sponsored by the Deputy Minority Leader, Chukwuka Onyeama.

The House also enjoined the Federal Government to formulate a more efficient mechanism for engagement with all aggrieved elements that threaten homeland security and the nation’s territorial integrity.

Before the adoption of Onyeama’s motion at the plenary presided over by Speaker Yakubu Dogara, the lawmakers had observed a minute silence in honour of victims of the May 30, 2016 mayhem.

Onyema, while expressing concern over the increasing spate of extra-judicial killings in the country, contended that there seemed to be no cessation to the ugly development amid wide condemnations by the citizenry, adding that the consequences leave behind a feeling of alienation, marginalisation and subsequent escalation of confrontational tendencies and resistance to the state.

In a related development, the lawmakers have expressed willingness to devise means in halting the the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), which has further worsened the nation’s economic crisis with unabated vandalism of oil installations in the oil-rich region in the past couple of weeks.

The chamber’s spokesman, Abdulrazak Namdas who briefed reporters yesterday in Abuja, assured that the House would come up with a solution to the problem soon.

Namdas, who is also a member of the House Committee on Defence, also revealed that members of the panel had embarked on a tour of oil installations owned by multinational companies in the area as part of efforts to finding a sustainable solution to the menace.