House of Reps call for disarming unlicensed gun owners nationwide

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The House of Representatives, on Thursday, charged the Federal Government to take immediate measures to disarm “unlicensed persons” bearing arms in the South East and other parts of the country.

The House also urged the government to address “underlying factors precipitating unrest and violence n the South East, “as well as intervene urgently in “the rescue mission of Anambra State by extending financial support and other strategic logistics to enable the (state) adequately contain the wave of insecurity in the state.”

The Green chamber also charged the heads of federal security agencies to work towards the security of lives and property, ” by embracing Early Warning and Early Response Mechanism to collaborate with focal security agencies in sharing of intelligence information.”

The House mandated its Committee on Information and Communication Technology to liaise with the Ministry of Information and Culture and the National Orientation Agency to embark on public awareness campaign and sensitization exercise. The committee is expected to report back to the House within three.

These followed the adoption of a motion on a matter of urgent national importance, by Dozie Nwankwo, a member representing Njikoka/Anaocha/Dunukofia Federal Constituency of Anambra State, “on the need to stabilize the polity in the South East as a build-up to the 2023 general elections.”

Nwankwo, in his motion, stated that between June 2020 — April 2022, about 8,455 people’s lives have been lost in the South East, as a result of insecurity in the zone. He noted that despite efforts by security agencies to contain the security challenges in the South East, the problem is escalating.

According to him, ” lack of sufficient equipment, corruption in the system, lack of strategic deployment, sabotage and betrayal are worsening the integrity and efficiency of the security agencies in the face of an increased spate of banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, cultism, ritual killing and worst of all, political killings.”

Nevertheless, the lawmaker stated that the Anambra State governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has made some progress in trying to “reduce the activities of the Unknown Gunmen in Anambra State since assuming office through diplomatic means and other intervention strategies using part of the lean resources of the state.”