The House of Representatives Thursday vowed to probe alleged importation of military equipment and uniforms by the Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello.
The House also summoned the Nigeria Customs Service to appear before it and explain why the service did not arrest the importer who was not constitutionally empowered to procure arms into the country.
The resolutions emanated from a motion moved under matters of urgent public importance by Sunday Karimi (Kogi PDP) at Thursday’s plenary.
Leading the debate on the motion, Karimi expressed concern that recently, Kogi State government imported 100 pieces of military camouflage, jungle boots, plastic knives and bullet proof vests among other equipment.
He noted with dismay that instead of the Nigeria Customs Service to promptly arrest the importer for importing military hardware, the service requested for an end user certificate.
“Worried that instead of the Nigeria Custom Service to promptly arrest the importer for his reasonable act of importing military hardware and items into the country, that only the military is constitutionally empowered to do, the Nigerian Customs Service has curiously requested the importer to provide end-user certificate from the National Security Adviser which cannot under the law authorized any individual or state government to import such item
The lawmaker said if the trend was allowed to continue and politicians, state government and private citizens were allowed to import arms under the guise of equipment, the military, security and life of the innocent Nigerian would be jeopardized
Karimi noted that there had been reported cases of assassination and threat to the lives of politicians and public officials who had divergent political views from that of their governor..
Contributing to the motion, Nnena Elendu-Ukeje (Abia PDP), expressed worry over the security challenges bedeviling the country due to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons by people with ulterior motives.
She stressed the need for stakeholders to check the importation of these small arms and light weapons to curb the spate of attacks and criminality in some parts of the country.
Rep Hassan Saleh also spoke in the same vein but cautioned that”if this trend continues, one day we will come here and Nigerians will chase us away.
The presiding officer, Yakubu Dogara, only allowed a brief before putting the question for a voice vote and ays carried the day.
