Senate demands sack of ‘incompetent’ service chiefs

The Senate on Tuesday adopted a resolution to compel President Muhammadu Buhari to sack service chiefs long accused of corruption and incompetence in the face of worsening insecurity.

Senator Kashim Shettima moved the motion on the killing of Borno rice farmers by Boko Haram insurgents over the weekend, saying the tragic incident had exposed the uselessness of security chiefs.

“For me, the resolution that I will like to re-emphasise is that it is time for Mr. President to allow our service chiefs to go,” Senator Opeyemi Bamidele stated in support of Mr. Shettima’s motion.

Lawmakers also slammed presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu for appearing to blame the slain farmers on Monday morning, describing his comments as “highly irresponsible”.

Senators subsequently adopted a resolution on the matter, although it was unclear whether the president would abide by it, especially since he had rejected two similar resolutions in the past.

Other resolutions reached by the Senate include urging the president to revamp the country’s security architecture to effectively combat insecurity, initiate probes into allegations of corruption within the security structure and put mechanisms in place to foster transparency.

They also sought compensation for the families of rice farmers who were killed by the insurgents in Zabarmari, Borno.

Peoples Gazette had reported that Mr. Buhari rejected calls to dismiss his military chiefs following the killings in Borno. Mr. Buhari first appointed the service chiefs following his election as president in 2015. It was unclear why he had declined to sack them, despite widespread news reports and conclusion of security experts that the military chiefs were incompetent and corrupt.