Home News Senate debates on how kidnappers use phones to negotiate ransom, summons Minister

Senate debates on how kidnappers use phones to negotiate ransom, summons Minister

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The Senate, on Wednesday expressed worry on how kidnappers use phones to negotiate ransom with families of victims.

The upper lawmakers summoned the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami to come and explain the inability of his Ministry to stop this.

According to the resolution made by the Senators, Patami would appear before its Committees on Legislative Compliance and Communications on the need to devise the means to stop insecurity in the land through digital communication.

The motion to summon the Minister on this matter was sponsored by Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba South).

The Senator lamented  that “the rate of insecurity in Nigeria has not only increased astronomically but has reached a melting point.”

He lamented the increase in the rate of kidnapping, banditry, robbery, killings and other cther vices in the land.

“The assassination of Nasarawa State APC Chairman and other high profile cases are still fresh in our memories.

“A Chinese National was recently abducted in my community, his whereabouts is still unknown,” Bwacha said.

He added that “there is growing suspicion of the complicity of officials of state saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and property of the citizens, but have compromised in the process.

“This is heightened by the arrest of several security operatives involved in armed robbery and kidnapping activities across the country.

“It is only in Nigeria that communication facilities can be used without a biometric process, no valid identification of passport details (in the case of foreigners) in place to check abuse.”

“How can we be so negligent and insensitive to the safety and security of citizens?”

“Senate is concerned that the confidence between the protected and the protector is being increasingly eroded resulting in the breakdown of law and order as demonstrated in the #EndSARS protest which was subsequently hijacked by miscreants.

“Further notes that political permutations across the landscape is attracting politicians to recruit criminals for the purpose of destabilizing the corporate existence of Nigeria.

“These evil intents can be easily achieved given the poor control over communication facilities, viz inability of our security apparatus and service providers to effectively manage this all-important sector,” Bwacha said.