Boko Haram: How Senate honoured dead Nigerian soldiers

In honour of the 44 soldiers who lost their lives while fighting Boko Haram insurgents in the North East, the Senate on Thursday adjourned plenary thereby cutting short its sitting for the period.

Senator Bala Na’allah revealed on the floor of the senate that Boko Haram terrorists invaded a town and allegedly killed 44 soldiers, which included his cousin.

In reaction, Senator Ahmad Lawan wondered at the kind of protection that was available to soldiers, “What kind of protection do they have? It is important that we pay surprise visits to them.

“Let us show these people that even if a soldier dies, his or her family will not suffer.”

Senator Joshua Lidani felt that the Senate needs to do a lot more than it is currently doing.

He said, “We need to do a lot more than we are doing now. We need to visit and show our support. We need to sympathize with them.”

On her part, Ekiti State senator, Biodun Olujimi expressed sadness at the lost lives, even as she doubted the veracity of the number of casualties.

“It is very sad that we have lost soldiers protecting us, that is just the official number and it may not be accurate. This shows that our priorities in this country are not in order.”

At the end of the debate, the senators arrived at  five resolutions, which included, observing a one-minute silence for the dead soldiers, going on a condolence visit to the to the families of the deceased soldiers and the Chief of Army Staff.

“To Mandate the Committees on Defence and Army to investigate the cause of the killings of the 44 soldiers and to ensure that adequate measures are being taken to curb such killings of our military.

“A delegation of Senators will visit our soldiers on the battlefield.”

They also resolved to step down all proceedings of the day in honour of the soldiers who lost their lives.