UPDATED …..#ROBBERYATTACK…. Saraki visits Offa community, sues for improved security technique

Bukola Saraki

The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has advocated for the general improvement on the security infrastructure of the country.

Saraki stated this on Saturday in Offa , Offa local government area of Kwara state when he paid a condolence visit to the Olofa of Offa, Oba
Muftau Gbadamosi Esuwoye on the recent bank robbery incident in the town.

Saraki added that Nigeria’s security challenges are as a result of the country’s inadequate response to
security, ROYAL NEWS reports.

Armed robbers numbering about 15 had last Thursday attacked five banks and police station in Offa, killing 17 people including nine policemen in the process.

“All the issue had to do on how will improve on our
security infrastructure. It is clear that we are not responding adequately to this. That is why we organized a security summit sometime ago to address the issue and to work close with the executive and see how we can find solution to the security problems in the country.

“We on the legislative arm are ready to come up with the real design to improve on the security challenges, whether it is the human resources, equipment, whether it has to do with funding and legislation. There is also the issue of the actual structure of the
police.

“This issue requires a very radical and serious minded approach. Unless we address this we will continue to have this kind of scenario
where a bunch of criminals will hold a town for two hours and carry out this mayhem. There is no society that will really allow this kind
of thing to happen.

“We condole with the families of both the civilians and the policemen
that died during the incident. In a place like Offa that is very
vibrant in commerce, we must address security challenge so that people
can continue to carry out their normal activities.

“The police must see this as an institutional issue. It is not
personal. On our part as legislators we are ready to do anything that
will empower them,” he stated.

On the question of inviting the military for assistance, the Senate
President said “there is no society that delegates the
responsibilities of the police to that of the military. Because it
also has its own fallbacks; the number of the military is very thin.
They are in most of the states of the federation. This makes it
difficult for them to protect the territorial integrity of the
country.”

Also speaking, the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi harped on the need for the establishment of state police.

The monarch said: “It will be better for the Federal Government to
establish state police. With that they will be closer to the people and to
the state government. This is the fourth time that we will experience this kind of robbery attacks
in the last ten years.

“One of the major problems of the police force is inadequate manpower.
We discover that in Offa local government area here the number of
policemen is not up to 50. Anytime we have something like this there
will be no reinforcement anywhere. So what we need is manpower. The
state government can afford to buy us armoured personnel carrier
(APC), it can afford to build more police station but if the manpower
is not there it is not enough.

“What the Federal Government needs to do is to employ as many
graduates looking for jobs into the police force, Army, Air
Force and the Navy. There is a lot of unemployed graduates that are
ready to join these military and para-military forces. There is no
security at all in the country. If you were here on that fateful day
you will know what I am saying.

“I don’t want to believe that it is a question of sophisticated
weapons; it is the question of ‘we cannot go there because we are not
enough.’ What they have the military and the police have, but when
they are more than the police in number, what can the police do.

“We have always been involving local security, but you know these
criminals when they come they always catch people unawares. There is
risk attached to the use of local hunters, because by the time we get
them involved because of a day like this, the police will arrest them
and say they are carrying dane guns .”

Ends