The House of Representatives has tasked security agencies in Nigeria to deploy additional personnel to Ehamufu community in Enugu state to address security challenges in the area.
This followed the adoption of a motion by Rep. Paul Nnamchi (LP-Enugu state) at plenary on Tuesday.
Presenting the motion, Nnamchi said that the community had witnessed persistent attacks by suspended bandits in recent times.
He said that so many lives had been lost in the last two years to the attacks, with several people kidnapped and uncounted for, while property worth billions of naira had been damaged.
The Rep said that 10 women were kidnapped from their homes on the Dec. 26, 2021 and released after ransom was paid.
“The prevalence of kidnaping of women including minors by suspected herdsman and bandits in the area is alarming.
“The bandits are still operating from the forest reserves spanning about 10km where they have converted to their permanent base to perpetuate their heinous crime against innocent communities.
“No perpetrator of this heinous crime has been arrested, survivors have abandoned their farmland and displaced from their ancestral home for fear of being killed,” he said.
He said that persistent attacks on the community had resulted in massive hunger and poverty.
“Uptill date there’s no evidence of commercial, agricultural activities and socio-economic development within the community.
“The vulnerable, including women and children have become soft targets and at most risk as the social economic development, educational and security situation of citizens of the area have come to a halt,” he said.
The house mandated its committees’ on national security and intelligence, army and police affairs to follow up to ensure the resolutions of the house were carried out.
The lawmakers urged the National emergency management Agency (NEMA) to supply relief materials to the people affected by the attack.
In his ruling, the Speaker, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas mandated the committee on legislative compliance to ensure compliance and report back to the house.
