Abdul-Rahman Abubakar
1 June 2011
The increasing incidents of bombings especially in military barracks are aimed at inciting soldiers into rampage, Senate President David Mark said yesterday.
Speaking when Senate considered a motion on the recent blasts in the country moved by Senator Ayogu Eze (PDP, Enugu North), Mark said the bombings are orchestrated by professionals aiming to achieve a selfish motive.
According to him, “by going to do it in the barracks or the Mammy market is a way of inciting the armed forces because if they are not disciplined enough, there next reaction will be to go on rampage and I think that the motive behind this bombing is a heinous one, we should make sure we do not allow people carry it further than they have done now.
“And I think the earlier we fish out those who are involved and those that have committed it so far, the better. More importantly we must make sure that from now onward, that there is no more bomb blast in this country.”
Mark blamed the escalating bomb blasts in the country on security lapses saying, “these bombings are being done by professionals. Going to leave the bomb somewhere, timing it is not something that you can give to an amateur to do. And I think the security agencies generally must share a lot of the blame in not getting this people ahead of time or after doing it, still not being able to identify them.
“I do not believe that when they are caught they should be tried secretly. I think everybody should know who and who are involved because if it is a secret trial, then at the end of the day, nobody can say what has happened. I believe that the security agencies need to buckle up a bit.”
He said the blasts would have adverse economic implications for the country as it is bound to repel investors. “But what is even more important is that we do not want to be classified as Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
In his motion, Eze drew the attention of the Senate to the alarming security situation in the country with bomb blasts occurring on daily basis claiming innocent lives and injuring several other victims.
He said: “It seems that our security agencies have no clue as to how to stop it. It has now become the norm and nothing is being done about it, meaning that our security agencies are not ready for their jobs.”
In his contribution, Senator John Shagaya said: “The first bomb blast in Nigeria happened in 1967 and within 36 hours, the culprits where apprehended. But today, the security operatives are so relaxed, thus making it easy for the perpetrators to continue with these gruesome acts without being apprehended. This is not good for the nation.”
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