As the National Assembly resumes from its long recess today, the House of Representatives and the Benue State Government have disagreed on the reasons for the spates of killings in the state in the past few months.
While the Deputy Spokesman of the House, Philip Agbese blamed Governor Hyacinth Alia for what it called his abandonment of the state anti-open grazing law for the increase in the killings of innocent citizens in recent times, the governor fired back, accusing Agbese of knowing next to nothing about how laws are suspended in state legislatures.
Attacks in Ukum and Logo Local Government Areas of Benue State in the past three weeks have left no fewer than 56 persons dead, with Gov Alia last week, appealing for Federal Government’s intervention to stem the tide.
Recall The two chambers had on March 27 proceeded on break to mark the Eid-el-Fitr and Easter celebrations and fixed Tuesday, April 29, 2025, as the resumption date. However, the Workers’ Days celebration on May 1 led to the extension of resumption by an additional week.
While on break, bandits in a senseless campaign of violence killed innocent Nigerians in Plateau, Benue and Zamfara States, culminating in calls for President Bola Tinubu to cut short his vacation in France to return home to lead the fight against insecurity from the front.
Speaking with The PUNCH exclusively, the Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, said the leadership of the House is committed to speaking against all forms of criminality in the country, particularly the killings of defenceless Nigerians and destruction of their property.
He said, “As we resume tomorrow (Tuesday), we are prepared to tackle squarely the issue of insecurity across the country. We are tired of observing one-minute silence in honour of the dead all the time. Like the Speaker, the Right Honourable Tajudeen Abbas always says, the life of every Nigerian is very important to the 10th National Assembly.
“To bring these issues to the attention of the government through urgent public importance is not a question we should be asking ourselves now. We want to see action, we want to see Nigeria secure so that everyone can move freely without fear of being attacked or killed.
“During our sectoral engagement with security chiefs not long ago, they promised action, and we saw a reduction in these attacks. But that was then.
“Things have worsened again, and we cannot continue. We hope to engage them again, and if we are convinced that they don’t have fresh ideas on how to address the challenge of insecurity, we will recommend to Mr President to relieve them of their duties and appoint fresh hands to step in.”
Agbese also commended the leadership of the House, saying, “Since we came on board in June 2023, Speaker Abbas has continued to prioritise the well-being of Nigerians, and as part of this parliament, we are not prepared to rest yet. Nigerians expect more from us and we can’t afford to let them down. What we must do as parliamentarians is to speak up when things are not going well.
“Killing Nigerians in their homes, farms or wherever should not be condoned. We are hopeful that as we resume our duty, we will lend our voices to the call for the safety of Nigerians wherever they are and that those tasked with maintaining peace and order, as well as the protection of lives and property, will step up their game and make this country secure for us all.”
On the incessant killings in Benue State over the past few months, Agbese who represents Ado/Ogbadigbo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency of the State, blamed the governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia for his handling of the state anti-grazing law.
He said, “Before his (Gov Alia) election, there was an anti open grazing law in place. He completely abandoned that law and was busy claiming that there were no issues in Benue. The governor kept referring to the ECOWAS Protocol which guarantees free movement of people and goods within the West Africa sub region.
“Truth as that may sound, the ECOWAS Protocol does not make room for reckless human transit without documentation, and this is what some of us pointed out to the governor.
“Before now, when herders came into new settlements, the law required them to give information about themselves to the locals. They were known to the people, but Gov Alia came and changed everything. At a point, he said there was no problem in Benue. We are happy that he is beginning to realise that this is not the way to go.
Meanwhile, Mr Agbese has called on Gov Hyacinth Alia and his Zamfara State counterpart, Dauda Lawal, to appear before the House Committee on Public Petitions as directed by the Committee Chairman, Mike Etaba last week.
Last week, the committee summoned the two governors, along with the leadership of their Houses of Assembly to appear before them on Thursday, May 8, to explain why their functions should not be taken over by the House of Representatives.
According to the statement, the invitation, “Was sequel to a petition written by a civil rights organisation, Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law, urging the House to take over the functions of the two Houses of Assembly.”
The Committee insisted that its intervention is necessary “To ensure that the rule of Law is upheld at all times. The parties have a wonderful opportunity to state their cases clearly so that Nigerians can know what is going on. Anarchy would never be given any space in our polity.”
Reminded that the State Assemblies have denied receiving the House summons, the Benue lawmaker urged them to move away from technicalities and appear before the Committee to enable Nigerians to hear their own side of the story.