The Senate, on Wednesday, mourned the killing of soldiers and civilians by armed persons in the southern part of Taraba State.
The mourning followed a point of order by Emmanuel Bwacha, a senator representing Taraba South.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how the gunmen, locally called bandits, killed six soldiers responding to an attack at Tati, a village in Takum Local Government Area in the State.
The Nigerian Military said in an internal communication obtained by this newspaper from 93 Battalion in Takum, that the commanding officer of the battalion, E.S Okore, a lieutenant colonel, is yet to be accounted for.
The signal said the incident happened around 10 a.m. on May 10. It stated that the bandits in the clash outnumbered the troops.
Ezrel Tabiowo, media aide to the president of the Senate, in a statement, said under Order 42 of the Senate Standing Orders 2022 as amended, Mr Bwacha drew the attention of the chamber to the incidents of banditry and terrorism that occurred in Southern Taraba during the Sallah break.
The lawmaker said the attackers came on motorbikes and killed over 40 people, including soldiers who were mobilised to protect the community.
Mr Bwacha consoled military authorities over the loss of its officials in the line of duty, the statement said.
He appealed to the Federal Government to direct the relevant agencies to provide relief materials to the victims of the attack.
Mr Tabiowo said Senate President Ahmad Lawan urged Nigerians to support the military by providing the needed motivation and information to enable them to tackle the problem of insecurity.
Mr Lawan said, “Let me also say that the military and our armed forces are doing their best, we have no alternative but to support them in whatever way possible.”
“Here in the Senate and National Assembly, we have been appropriating funds for our armed forces, and I believe that this administration has provided more resources to them to fight the various forms and ramifications of insecurity in the country than any previous one.
“So, we will continue to give that kind of support. And I also want to urge all Nigerians to continue to support our armed forces because they are doing so much even though we don’t have enough for them.
“But I believe that the support of citizens for the armed forces will galvanize and keep them motivated,” Mr Tabiowo quoted his principal saying in the statement.
The Senate, thereafter, observed a minute of silence for all those killed by the terrorists, the statement added.
Taraba in the Northeast region is witnessing an upsurge in criminality with kidnap-for-ransom, bomb explosions on the rise in the state capital, Jalingo, and attacks by bandits are becoming rampant in other parts of the state.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for some of the explosions in the state.
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