The Senate, on Wednesday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, declare state of emergency on security in the wake of the abduction of staff and students at a school in Niger.
This followed a motion by Senator Muhammed Sani Musa (APC, Niger) who called the attention of his colleagues to the kidnapping of some students and staff of Government Science Secondary School, Kagara, Niger State, around 2am on Wednesday.
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In his lead debate, Senator Musa said though security agents have launched rescue effort to secure the release of the victims, their whereabouts were still unknown.
The incident happened 48 hours after 21 passengers heading to Minna, capital of Niger State, were abducted in broad daylight.
Senator Muhammad Bima Enagi (Niger South) said the high rate of killings and kidnappings in the country showed that the government at the centre seemed to be showing incompetence in addressing insecurity.
“Do we need to amend the constitution to allow the citizens carry arms to protect themselves?” he queried.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan said the recurring incidence of kidnapping of school children at the school premises would have a negative effect on the willingness of parents to send their children to school.
He urged the security agencies to come up with a strategy to secure schools.
