Legislators call on Buhari to relieve inspector general of police Ibrahim Idris of his job

MEMBERS of the House of Representatives have passed a motion calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to replace inspector-general of police Ibrahim Idris with a more professional police officer over his failure to address the Fulani herdsman crisis.

Over the last year, the security situation across Nigeria has deteriorated as heavily-armed Fulani cattle herders have frequently clashed with local farming communities, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent villagers. Of late, the crisis has taken a turn for the worse, particularly in Benue State as herdsmen have gone on the rampage and last month, over 70 people were killed in an innocent attack.

Mr Idris has come under attack for doing little about the crisis, with the Benue State government accusing him and his men or being complacent. Earlier this week, the House of Representatives summoned the defence minister Brigadier Mansur Ali over the invasion of some border communities in Cross River State by Cameroonian soldiers, during which he was questioned about the herdsmen crisis too.

After the sitting, members of the house passed a resolution sponsored by Hon Danburam Nuhu on the need to curb thuggery in political activities in Kano State, in particular and Nigeria, in general. In the build-up to the resolution, the lower chamber had separately approved a motion instructing Mr Idris to tender an unreserved apology to the governor of Benue State Samuel Ortom, over the derogatory statements by a police spokesman Jimoh Moshood.

In addition, the House asked the inspector-general of police to relieve the spokesman of his position immediately. Speaking on live television, Mr Moshood had referred to Governor Ortom as a drowning man in response to a question about the governor's dissatisfaction over the role of the police.

Also, the House mandated its committee on the recent killings and insecurity in the nation, to investigate the alleged statements made by Mr Idris and the implications on his ability to superintend the resolution of the killings in Benue and other parts of the country if found to be true.

The motion sponsored by Hon Mark Terseer Gbillah, said Mr Idris, who had failed to apprehend the perpetrators of the killings in Benue, where 73 lives were lost, had before a Senate committee, blamed the killings on the enactment of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranching Law by the Benue State House of Assembly. He has also called for the suspension of the law.