Date: 2018-04-13

The House of Representatives is to investigate the recent bank robbery in Offa, Kwara State Central Nigeria.

This was contained in a motion under matters of urgent public importance presented before the House of Representatives, on the need to unravel the bank robbery that left more than thirty people dead.

Leading the debate, Mr. Olayonu Tope from Kwara State expressed concern over the dastardly acts of robbery that occurred in Offa, that have become a recurring scenario.

He said "for the armed bandits to first overcome the Police before unleashing mayhem on citizens and workers, it means the security operatives are not capable of protecting lives and properties of Nigerians. The banks in Kwara South are all closed as a result of the incident, which constitutes grave drainage of the State economy."

Contributing to the debate, the Deputy Speaker Yusuf Suleimon Lasun said the situation will lead to chaos if not urgently checked.

Mr. Lasun stated that "there is a possibility of the students who are cultists in the Higher Institutions of Learning in Offa, could be responsible for the heinous crime. He described the ratio of a police to citizens in the country put at 1:500 as impractical."

Miss Beni Lar from Plateau State in her contribution urged the National Assembly to intervene in the structure of the security apparatus, stating that "the Nation is becoming a beehive of crime and criminalities that keep going unsolved. She asked if the banks are not safe, where is?"

Mr. Orker Jev from Benue State stated that Motions on insecurity make up most of the Motions that come to the Floor of the House, and that it looked like both the citizens and the security forces are afraid of the criminals.

The lawmakers also urged the Nigerian government to take a holistic approach to address the security challenges in the country.

Members were unanimous that recent killings and attacks especially in parts of Kaduna, Benue and Kwara States call for more efforts and collaborations to deal with the situation decisively.