The House of Representatives on Wednesday called on the
Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on kidnapping in the
country to curb escalating kidnapping cases.
It said the police, the armed forces and
telecommunications service providers should also convene a national
security summit to find urgent solutions to rising kidnapping incidents.
Aside identifying the harsh economic realities of today as
a factor, members observed that criminals found kidnapping to be “more
lucrative these days than armed robbery.”
A member from Ondo State, Mr. Babatunde Kolawole, had
raised the issue on the floor under matters of urgent public importance
to set a debate in motion.
Leading the debate on his motion, titled, “Need for the
Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on kidnapping in the
country”, the All Progressives Congress lawmaker stated, “In the last 10
years, the incidence of kidnapping for ransom in the country has
escalated to a very disturbing level and has reached a point where no
one is safe anymore.”
He said available statistics indicated that in 2013 for
example, “Nigeria had the most kidnap attempts in the world, accounting
for 26 per cent of all such recorded incidents, followed by Mexico with
10 per cent and Pakistan with 7per cent.”
Kolawole reeled out a list of major kidnapping incidents in the country.
Members endorsed the motion in a unanimous voice vote at the session, which was presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara.
No comments:
Post a Comment