Declare bandits as terrorists- Assembly speakers ask Buhari

The Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria on Saturday decried the deteriorating state of security in the country.

The body urged the President Muhammadu Buhari  to declare banditry and kidnapping as acts of terrorism.

This was contained in a communique issued at the end of the third quarter meeting of the Forum held on Saturday at the Katsina state government House.

The communiqué was read by Chairman of the Forum and Speaker of the Bauchi state House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman.

He said, “The Conference again, decried the spate of insecurity in the Country and resolved to work out legislative frameworks to complement the efforts of the Federal Government to fight insecurity in the Country.

“The Conference called on the Federal Government to declare banditry and kidnapping as acts of terrorism and as such deal with the perpetrators decisively.

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“The Conference resolved to make appropriate laws to address fundamental issues that breed insecurity in the land as well as creating employment for the youth with a view to curbing the menace of insecurity in the country.”

Similarly, the Katsina state Governor, Aminu Masari, in a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the meeting, called on Buhari to declare a state of emergency on security in the country.

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Masari said this would restore peace and order in the country as well as guarantee protection of the lives and properties of the citizens.

He explained that the Katsina State Government, with the cooperation of the State Assembly, has provided a legal framework and restructured existing ones, among other measures, to curb insecurity in the state.