The Nigerian Senate has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to declare bandits causing various havocs across the country as terrorists.
The Senate mentioned this while calling on the President to wage war against bandits, including bombing all their locations to annihilate and eliminate them.
It advised the President to declare all the known leaders of the bandits wanted and track them wherever they are for arrest and prosecution.
The resolutions followed a motion by Senator Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir representing Sokoto East Senatorial district and eight others.
Gobir noted his district had turned to a safe haven for bandits because of the recent onslaught against them in Zamfara State.
He recalled the killing of 21 security personnel last Saturday in Dama and Gangara and a yet-to-be-ascertained number of civilians from the neighbouring villages by rampaging bandits.
The lawmaker described the incident as one which requires urgent action by the declaring war on banditry.
He expressed worry that losing such a number of trained officers would further deplete the numerical strength of the security personnel in the country, thereby jeopardizing the security architecture of the country.
He also lamented that most of the bandits have now relocated to Sabon Birni and Isa local government areas due to the sustained military operations at the Zamfara axis.
Gobir said while the crackdown on the bandits was taking place in Zamfara State, no concrete measures have been taken in Sokoto State, leaving it totally exposed to the activities of the bandits.
“The operation should be holistic instead of restrictive in order to produce effective and the desired results,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Senate observed a minute of silence in honour of the fallen heroes and civilians who lost their lives in the unwholesome activities of the bandits.
The Upper Chamber then directed the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, and other relevant federal government agencies to give all the necessary support to the victims of the menace of banditry in Sokoto and other parts of the country.