By BEN AGANDE/INALEGWU SHAIBU/OLASUNKANMI AKONI
ABUJA — THE Senate, Tuesday, condemned the spate of bombings in the country and called on all security agencies to live up to their responsibilities of unearthing those behind it.

In a motion brought under matter of Urgent National importance, Senator Ayogu Eze said the spate of bombings in the country which he described as alien to the Nigerian calls for concern from everybody.

The President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, while condemning the targeting of the military by these bombers, decried the inability of security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators of these acts.

According to him, “These (bombings) are being done by professionals. Going to leave the bomb somewhere, timing it is not something that you can give to an amateur to do. And, I think the security agencies generally must share a lot of the blame in not getting these people ahead of time or after doing it, still not being able to identify them.

“I do not believe that when they are caught they should be tried secretly. I think everybody should know who and who are involved because if it is a secret trial, then at the end of the day, nobody can say what has happened. I believe that the security agencies need to buckle up a bit,” he said.

The Senate President noted that the bombings are capable of driving away investors from the country and  capable of putting Nigeria in bad light as a country that cannot secure its land.

“I am worried about the security implication of this for us, we are asking investors to come and we do not want a situation where they think that Nigeria is unsafe for businessmen to come and invest. But what is even more important is that we do not want to be classified as Pakistan and Afghanistan,” he added.

“I agreed that there is a need for us to find out exactly what the problems of those behind it is, but you by going to do it in the barracks or the mammy market is way of inciting the armed forces because if they are not discipline enough, there next reaction will be to go on rampage and I think that the motive behind this bombing is a heinous one, is one that we make sure we do not allow people carry it further than they have done now.

“And I think the earlier we fish out those who are involved and those that have committed so far, the better. More importantly we must make sure that from now onward, that there is no more bomb blast in this country” he said.

Earlier, Senator Ayogu Eze who moved the motion noted that Nigerian security agencies lacked the wherewithal to stop the spate of bombings around the country.

Senator Eze who also lamented the shutdown of communication facilities in Abuja Sunday, ahead of presidential inauguration said, “It seems that our security agencies have no clue as to how to stop it. It has now become the norm and nothing is being done about it, meaning that our security agencies are not ready for their jobs.”

Also contributing, Senator John Shagaya, PDP, Plateau blamed security operatives for failing to apprehend the perpetrators of the acts.

His words, “The first bomb blast in Nigeria happened in 1967 and within 36 hours, the culprits where apprehended. But today, the security operatives are so relaxed, thus making it easy for the perpetrators to continue with these gruesome acts without being apprehended. This is not good for the nation.”

Senator Kanti Bello in his contribution urged the government to find the motives behind the bomb first, so as to tackle the masterminds of the bombings.

ACN calls for national security summit on terrorism
Meanwhile th Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently summon a national security summit to give stakeholders a forum to proffer solutions to the incessant bombings now ravaging the country, saying the problem should be treated as a national emergency.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday, in reaction to the latest spate of bombings in Abuja, Bauchi and Zaria that left many dead and injured, stressed that such a summit should involve all those who have positive contributions to make to end the epidemic of explosions, irrespective of their political leaning.

ACN stated that it was obvious that the government alone cannot stop the explosions, which had left hundreds of innocent Nigerians dead or maimed, and which risk scaring away foreign investors at a time the federal government is embarking on a journey to transform the country in all spheres.

According to ACN: ‘After every bomb attack, the government will vow to get the culprits and punish them. Then more explosions will occur and the government will repeat its vow. This is not reassuring to the people of Nigeria as well as foreigners who may want to do business in the country.

‘’Therefore, it is now clear that, in spite of its best efforts, the government alone cannot stop the bombers. It is time for all patriots to all put heads together to identify the culprits and their grievances, and seek the way forward.’

The party observed that the way the explosions went off on the outskirts of Abuja as well as in Zaria and Bauchi, shortly after the inauguration of President Jonathan, shows that the only reason the inauguration itself was spared was because of the lock-down of Abuja and the shutdown of telecommunications services as part of stringent security measures put in place during the ceremony.

‘’But what happens now that the lock down of Abuja has been lifted and telecoms services restored? Is it not worrisome that those behind the explosions have continued to target public institutions and security agencies? Is it not becoming clear that these terrorists can now strike at a place and time of their own choosing, if they can detonate explosives in such high-security areas as military barracks?’’ ACN queried.

It also expressed a strong concern that these explosions have recently been concentrated in the part of the country not usually prone to such, despite incessant ethno-religious crises there, and wondered why this is so.